Travelling from one major festival to another, French firm Lucky Number, which was launched at the beginning of 2025, is proving its place on the world’s super-competitive international sales scene, and the 83rd Venice International Film Festival (running from 2-12 September) is confirming this state of affairs, since the line-up of this sales agent steered by Ola Byszuk, Olivier Barbier and Lenny Porte includes three features that are due to world-premiere in the Lido-based Official Selection.

Standing tall amongst these movies are two films competing in the Orizzonti section, including A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra by highly promising Greek filmmaker Jacqueline Lentzou, who was discovered in the 2021 Berlinale’s Encounters competition via Moon, 66 Questions. Selected in 2024 for Cannes’ Next Step Volume II programme, organised by the Critics’ Week, this second work by the director (who also penned the film’s screenplay) revolves around a fiery and melancholic teen called Jo who’s only 15 years old. On this particular day, she misses the school bus once again. Her mother insists she doesn’t have a car, despite the fact it’s parked right outside the house. Furious, Jo tries to damage the car. Her mother intervenes, and it proves to be the last time they see each other in the physical world, in bodily form at least. Throughout the day, subtle signs and symbols from the world of dreams surreptitiously appear around her, but she doesn’t recognise them. In fact, Jo doesn’t realise that this is the last day of her life… Starring Evita Andriopoulou, Eleni Vergeti, Anastasia Gouliamou and Ektoras Lygizos, the film – the first images of which were unveiled in the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Work in Progress section - was produced by Greek firm Avion Films in co-production with fellow Greek outfit Atalante Productions, Germany’s Kelek Film and France’s 4A4 Productions (by way of Andrea Queralt, who was responsible for the success of Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt).

The Lucky Number team will also be wagering on The Burning Giants, the third feature by Thailand’s Phuttiphong Aroonpheng who’s returning to the Orizzonti line-up where he previously nabbed the Award for Best Film with Manta Ray in 2018. This time around, the director is focusing on western Thailand, which is engulfed by mysterious smoke which triggers a strange infectious illness whose symptoms resemble burns. A villager from the Karen ethnic group is arrested in the heart of the jungle and taken to a quarantine centre. He dreams of returning to his home region at the foot of the mountains. His wife, who has fled to Bangkok, shares this dream. But their hope is thwarted by forest rangers who are determined to burn their village to the ground to make way for a national park. Beyond the veil of smoke, an abandoned theatre hides at the heart of the jungle, haunted by ogre soldiers fleeing the king’s army in an ancient war which reflects the villagers’ own struggle… Production was entrusted to Thailand’s Diversion in co-production with fellow Thai outfit 13 Little Pictures, French firm Nord-Ouest Films (with support from the CNC via the Aide aux Cinéma du Monde Fund and the Ile-de-France region) and the Netherlands’ Sluizer Productions.

The third Venetian trick up Lucky Number’s sleeve is Arrested Memory by Japanese director Sabu (previously selected in competition in Berlin in 2015 and 2017), which will be presented Out of Competition in Venice before being screened in Toronto’s Midnight Madness section.

Last but not least, Venice and Toronto will also see Lucky Number rounding off sales on five works selected in Cannes: Vertiginous by Quentin Dupieux, Strawberries by Laïla Marrakchi, the animated documentary Che Guevara: The Last Companions by Christophe Dimitri Réveille, Death Has No Master by Jorge Thielen Armand and La Perra by Dominga Sotomayor Castillo. A rich line-up, in other words, which promises to prove lucrative for the sales agent.