PRODUCTION / FUNDING USA / Ireland
Ramin Bahrani’s prison drama Last Meals in the works, toplined by Mads Mikkelsen
- The pic, sold by HanWay Films, has racked up some major sales including to key European territories, such as Benelux, Greece, Spain, Austria, Scandinavia and CEE countries
HanWay Films has secured a significant round of pre-sales for Last Meals, the latest feature by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), starring Mads Mikkelsen and Boyd Holbrook in the leading roles. The story was first reported by Variety.
The project, launched at this year’s Marché du Film in Cannes, was penned by AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship winner Justin Piasecki (Relay). The prison-set drama will begin shooting in Dublin later this year, and examines guilt, capital punishment and redemption – all through the lens of haute cuisine and the notorious French delicacy ortolan.
Mikkelsen (Another Round [+see also:
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interview: Thomas Vinterberg
film profile], Casino Royale [+see also:
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film profile]) plays Walter Karat, a disgraced former White House chef now working in a high-security prison preparing final meals for death-row inmates. Holbrook (The Bikeriders, Logan) portrays Jeffrey Reed, an inmate on hunger strike whose persistent rejection of Karat’s meals leads to a tense yet ultimately transformative relationship between the two men.
HanWay has confirmed a strong flurry of sales: Synca Creations for Japan, Paradiso Filmed Entertainment for the Benelux, Transmission Films for Australia, Vértigo Films for Spain, Active Cinema Group for Ukraine, Shaw Renters for Singapore, The Film Group for Greece and Acme Film for the Baltics. Forum Film Ltd has closed a multi-territory deal covering Israel, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Moreover, Skeye Inflight Entertainment has acquired airline rights.
Additional deals include Square One for Germany and Austria, and Scanbox for Scandinavia, brokered by Sentient Entertainment, which packaged the film. UTA Independent Film Group and Sentient are co-handling North American rights.
“There is a lot of confidence from the market, which has delivered a fantastic set of distribution partners for the film,” noted HanWay Films CEO Gabrielle Stewart.
Last Meals is being produced by Renée Tab for Sentient Entertainment (USA) and Christopher Tuffin for Strong Island (USA), with a team of executive producers including Charles Porter, of Black Bench Productions (USA); Kelly Price, of Blessed From Above (USA); Karan Hoss, of Hoss Productions (USA); Jeeny and Michael Miller, of Miller Way (USA); and Mikkelsen, Bahrani, Piasecki and Holbrook themselves. Dublin-based Brick Lane’s Todd Slater and Brandon Evans will serve as the Irish production partners, with Ari Novak overseeing production.
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