11/05/2022 - Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s Forever Young and Kirill Serebrennikov’s Tchaikovsky’s Wife dominate a highly appealing line-up which also includes Aftersun

In just five years of activity, French firm Charades has imposed itself as a sure-footed, key player known for its high quality films in the highly competitive world of international sales agents, and the Marché du Film (running 17 – 25 May) - unspooling within the 75th Cannes Film Festival - is set to prove this once again, given that the team composed of Yohann Comte, Carole Baraton, Pierre Mazars and Constantin Briest will notably be surfing on a wave of four films selected on the Croisette.

Shining bright among them are two contenders for the 2022 Palme d’Or: Forever Young [+see also:
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interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile] will see French-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi returning to the Cannes-based competition for a second time, after 2013’s A Castle in Italy [+see also:
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interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile]. The story takes us back to the end of the 1980s when Stella, Etienne, Adèle and the rest of the gang are 20 years old. They’ve just been admitted to Les Amandiers, the famous theatre school founded by Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Romans in Nanterre. Catapulted into life, passion, acting and love, they experience this turning point in their lives and their first great tragedies, together… It’s worth pointing out that, for the very first time, the director isn’t also starring in her film. Standing especially tall in the cast are young actors Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Sofiane Bennacer, flanked by Louis Garrel. Production comes courtesy of Ad Vitam Production and Agat Films in co-production with Arte France Cinéma and Italy’s BiBi Film.

The other star in Charades’ line-up is Tchaikovsky’s Wife [+see also:
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film profile] by Russia’s Kirill Serebrennikov, who’s set to enjoy his 3rd foray in the Cannes competition, following on from 2018 (Leto [+see also:
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interview: Ilya Stewart
film profile]) and 2021 ( Petrov’s Flu [+see also:
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film profile]), with a new opus produced by his compatriots at Hype Films alongside French firms Charades Productions and Logical Pictures, and Swiss outfit Bord Cadre Films.

Charades will also be negotiating on behalf of the French-Luxembourger animated co-production Little Nicholas [+see also:
film review
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interview: Amandine Fredon and Benjami…
film profile] by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, which is due to be unveiled in a Special Screening within the Official Selection (before heading off to compete in Annecy in June), as well as representing long-awaited movie Aftersun by the Scottish director (living in New York) Charlotte Wells, which is competing in Critics’ Week and stars rising Irish star Paul Mescal (of the series Normal People) and young actress Francesca Corio in lead roles. Production is steered by America’s Pastel (co-founded by Barry Jenkins) and Scottish firm Unified Theory Productions.

Four new titles are arriving in the sales agent’s line-up, in the form of British comedy in post-production Northern Comfort [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (working title: Fearless Flyers) by Iceland’s Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, the black comedy thriller Hit Big [+see also:
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interview: J-P Valkeapää
film profile] by Finland’s J.-P. Valkeapää, Carolina Cavalli’s first feature film, an Italian-French movie by the name of Amanda [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Benedetta Porcaroli
film profile], and the animated film in production Spermageddon by Norway’s Tommy Wirkola. These titles will form part of a rich post-production offering already composed of Karaoke by Israel’s Moshe Rosenthal (scheduled to world premiere in competition in Tribeca), American film Sanctuary by Zachary Wigon and The Origin of Evil [+see also:
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film profile] by French director Sébastien Marnier.

Last but not least, the many market premieres organised by Charades include showings of the animated feature Unicorn Wars [+see also:
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film profile] by Spanish helmer Alberto Vazquez (also selected to compete in the upcoming Annecy Film Festival) and of Romantique [+see also:
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film profile] by French director Thibault Segouin.

(Translated from French)