– The Polish sales agent presents a broad line-up spanning animation, survival thrillers, and auteur-driven European cinema, including market premieres
Nina and the Goddess of Thunder by Kamil Polak
Warsaw-based firm New Europe Film Sales will travel to the 79th Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film (running 12 – 20 May) with a wide-ranging selection of films in development, production and post-production, reaffirming its blend of international genre storytelling and festival-driven auteur cinema.
Leading the line-up is the market premiere of Nina and the Goddess of Thunder, an animated fantasy adventure directed by Polish filmmaker Kamil Polak. Set in a 10th-century Slavic village near Białowieża Forest, the story follows young Nina who lives with her father and loves the forest and breaking rules. The villagers are preparing for the main Slavic holiday – the winter solstice – when the great blacksmith god, Swaróg, forges a new sun. But this time things are different: the new sun doesn’t rise and both the village and nature itself are in danger. Nina, together with Swaróg’s youngest daughter, Perunika, sets out on a journey to save the world. Not only do they travel through the forest, but also across the kingdoms of different Slavic gods, the Ministry of Nature and the underworld. The film is currently in development, produced by Jan Naszewski based on a screenplay by Agnieszka Matan and Joanna Pawluśkiewicz, and is a co-production between New Europe Film Sales, Fabrique d’Images (Luxembourg), PFX (Czech Republic) and Doce Entertainment (Spain).
Another animation highlight is Julián, directed by Irish filmmaker Louise Bagnall and produced by Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Aircraft Pictures (Canada), Mélusine Studio (Luxembourg) and Sun Creature (Denmark). This family film follows wide-eyed Julián who’s about to spend the summer with a grandmother he barely knows. He’s amazed to discover her treasure-trove apartment, his own Caribbean heritage and the lively Brooklyn community that surrounds him. But most surprising of all, Julián discovers that he is, in fact, a mermaid. Executive producers include Academy Award winner Zoe Saldaña and Cinestar Pictures.
The Polish outfit is also bringing to Cannes the Berlinale Perspectives-premiered A Prayer for the Dying, directed by Dara Van Dusen, Prosecution by Faraz Shariat, which premiered in Berlinale’s Panorama section, and How to Divorce During the War by Andrius Blaževičius, which is continuing its international market run after its triumph in Sundance.
Jeremiah Zagar’s The Painted Bride also features prominently, starring Jeremy Allen White, Mandy Patinkin and Isabella Rossellini. The drama follows a man whose structured family life unravels after a crisis forces him back to Baltimore, where grief and creativity collide. The film is co-represented by France’s Charades while WME Independent are handling North American rights.
In post-production, It’s All Going Very Well… by Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey explores the quiet emotional bond between a care worker and an elderly man nearing the end of his life, blending caregiving and artistic reflection. The film is produced by Mad Ones Films (Australia) with an extensive international co-production network.
Lastly, the slate also includes the stop-motion animation Tales from the Magic Garden by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec, which is continuing its festival career following its Berlinale Generation Kplus premiere in 2025.
