This article will be updated regularly during Cannes' Marché du Film, taking place from 13-21 May.

The veil has been lifted on the subject of Kaouther Ben Hania’s next film (the title of which is yet to be confirmed), a director who won particular acclaim in competition in Cannes in 2023 via Four Daughters [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kaouther Ben Hania
fiche film] and in the Un Certain Regard section in 2017, as well as in Venice’s Orizzonti line-up in 2020, and who has twice been nominated for an Oscar). Having been shot in Tunisia with the greatest discretion, the film will take a fictitious look at the death of Hind Rajab, a small 5-year-old Palestinian girl who ended up trapped in a car attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza on 29 January 2024. Production is steered by Nadim Cheikhrouha (Tanit Films) in league with Odessa Rae and James Wilson, and with support from Film4. [Variety]

The Marché du Film and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), in collaboration with Cannes Next, have launched a new CES Innovation Award category dedicated to filmmaking and distribution technologies. The award aims to spotlight groundbreaking innovations, from generative AI tools and virtual production systems to next-gen streaming platforms that enhance creativity and efficiency across production, distribution and financing. An expert jury will select the most impactful solutions, with the winners set to be honoured at CES 2026. Submissions for both entries and judges open in June.

Fondazione Prada announces the creation of Fondazione Prada Film Fund, a yearly initiative to sustain independent cinema. Worth 1.5 million EUR, the Fund will be launched in autumn 2025 through a dedicated call. The goal of this project is to support works of high artistic value by enhancing Fondazione Prada’s twenty-year commitment in the field of cinema. Each year, the Fund jury will select ten–twelve feature films with no geographical or genre restriction. The choice will be based exclusively on criteria such as quality, originality, and vision, with the aim to concretely contribute to the film’s crucial development, production, and post-production phases.

Pyramide International has added Zou Jing’s Sino-French co-production A Girl Unknown to its line-up (read our article). The winner of the Next Step Prize in last year’s Critics’ Week in Cannes (news) and now currently in the shooting phase, the Chinese director’s first feature film is being produced by French firms Memoria Films (Wang Yang) and Maneki Films (Didar Domehri) alongside Chinese outfits Emei Film Group (Cao Xi), Eagle Media (Edmond Tao) and Pure Light Films (Xu Jiahan). Arte France Cinéma has already committed to co-producing and pre-purchasing the work, and Pyramide, who are kicking off world pre-sales at the Marché du Film, have also acquired the rights to distribute the film in France. [Screendaily]

Beta Cinema has secured multiple international sales for Amrum [+lire aussi :
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interview : Fatih Akin
interview : Klaus Maeck
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interview : Fatih Akin
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interview : Fatih Akin
interview : Jonas Dassler
fiche film]) ahead of its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section of the Cannes Film Festival. The drama has been acquired by Dulac Distribution for France, A Contracorriente for Spain, Bitters End for Japan, Cherry Pickers for the Benelux, CinemArt for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, MCF for the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, and Imovision for Brazil. In German-speaking territories, the film will be released by Warner Bros Pictures Germany on 9 October, while Dulac Distribution is planning a French release on 24 December. [Variety]

Film Factory has acquired worldwide sales rights to Operation Cronos, a high-stakes thriller based on the 2017 terrorist attacks in Barcelona. The film is being produced by Nostromo, the company behind the Netflix hit Through My Window, and Beta Fiction, known for the Spanish box-office success Undercover [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]. Operation Cronos will be directed by Fernando González Molina, whose previous work includes large-scale productions like Palm Trees in the Snow [+lire aussi :
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TrustNordisk and Zentropa have announced the first sales on Anders Thomas Jensen’s upcoming dark comedy The Last Viking. Starring Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas in the lead, the film has recently been picked up for distribution in Spain (via Avalon), Greece (via Videorama) and Bulgaria (via Beta Film). [Variety]

Beta Cinema has secured the world sales rights for the upcoming historical drama Each of Us, revealing an untold story of survival, resistance and sisterhood in the Ravensbrück women’s concentration camp – the only one of its kind – during the final days of World War II. Each of Us is directed by an all-female team consisting of four acclaimed European filmmakers — Anne Zohra Berrached (24 Weeks [+lire aussi :
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Q&A : Anne Zohra Berrached
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fiche film], The Odd-Job Men [+lire aussi :
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interview : Neus Ballús
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interview : Stina Werenfels
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interview : Anna Jadowska
fiche film], Wild Roses [+lire aussi :
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interview : Anna Jadowska
fiche film]), all inspired by true stories — and is penned by screenwriters Eva Pauné and Mirjam Ziegler. The film follows the intertwined stories of four women from different countries and who struggle to preserve their humanity amidst the brutal conditions of the camp. The cast is led by Diane Kruger, Carla Juri, Aida Folch and Ninel Geiger. [Variety]

Kate Mara will star in She Kills Them, a vampiric romantic comedy directed by Dan Clark (How Not to Live Your Life). She plays Chloe, a jaded New Yorker who secretly slays vampires for a covert government agency. Her double life is upended when she falls for someone who sees through her façade. Described as Buffy meets Fleabag, the film blends action, romance and dark humour. It's being produced by Tea Shop Films and The Project, with Matthew E Chausse also on board. [Variety]

Director László Nemes, whose new project will be a biopic about Jean Moulin (© Lenke Szilágyi)

Hungarian director László Nemes (Son of Saul [+lire aussi :
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Q&A : László Nemes
interview : László Rajk
fiche film], Orphan in post-production) will start working on his first French project, a biopic about Jean Moulin, a leading figure in the French Resistance during the Second World War. The lead role will be played by Gilles Lellouche and German actor Lars Eidinger will portray Klaus Barbie, from a script written by Olivier Demangel (Atlantics [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mati Diop
fiche film], the mini-series Class Act). Production is headed by Alain Goldman for Pitchipoï Productions with Studio TF1 co-producing and distributing in France. International sales will be handled by 196 (in association with Legendary and Patrick Wachsberger).

The next film by Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov (selected in competition at Cannes in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024, in Un Certain Regard in 2016 and this year in the Cannes Première programme with The Disappearance of Josef Mengele) will be a French-language feature entitled Après. The cast includes Ludivine Sagnier, Fanny Ardant, Vincent Macaigne, Guillaume Gallienne and Louis Garrel. Production is headed by Ilya Stewart and Aleksandr Fomin for Hype Studios and by the director himself, in co-production with Forma Pro Films (Latvia) and Umedia (Belgium). [Variety]

Gaumont has added to its line-up the prolific François Ozon's adaptation of Albert Camus' famous novel The Stranger, currently shooting in Morocco, with Benjamin Voisin, Rebecca Marder, Pierre Lottin, Swann Arlaud and Denis Lavant in the cast. The film is being produced by the director himself through his company FOZ. [Screendaily]

StudioCanal is launching pre-sales for Violette by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie [+lire aussi :
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Playtime is launching pre-sales for the thriller Golpes which will be the directorial debut of Spanish screenwriter Rafael Cobos, previously co-writer of films by Alberto Rodríguez (Marshland [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alberto Rodríguez
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interview : Alberto Rodríguez
fiche film], among others) and creator of the The Left-Handed Son series. His film, produced by Vaca Films with Grupo Tranquilo and Playtime Production will star Jesus Carroza and Luis Tosar (read the news). [Variety]