– The French sales agent will be pinning its hopes on A Girl’s Story by Judith Godrèche, Titanic Ocean by Konstantina Kotzamani and The Station by Sara Ishaq
A Girl’s Story by Judith Godrèche (© Windy Production/Moana Films)
Much like last year, when it took its baby steps on the Croisette under its new identity and had two films selected in Un Certain Regard, French international sales agent Paradise City Sales, managed by Émilie Georges, will once again be able to boast two titles in the same programme of the 79th Cannes Film Festival while adding a feature debut in competition within the Critics’ Week – all of which makes for a tidy trio of films helmed by female directors.
In Un Certain Regard, Paradise City Sales will be putting its faith in A Girl’s Story by France’s Judith Godrèche (see the article), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Annie Ernaux (Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022). Written by the director together with Tess Barthélemy (who also plays the lead role), the story kicks off in Paris in 2020, as a famous writer returns to her home town to sign her latest book. During the trip, a sudden dizziness plunges her back into the summer of 1958, when she first experienced sexual violence. This journey back into the past allows her to better understand the young girl she once was and to finally reconcile with a missing part of her story. The feature (which is the second effort by the filmmaker, following 2010’s Toutes les filles pleurent) is staged by Windy Production and Moana Films, and is co-produced by France 2 Cinéma and by Belgium’s Umedia. It will be distributed in France by Jour2Fête from 30 September.
Alexandre Moreau’s team will be counting on another trump card in Un Certain Regard with Titanic Ocean by Greece’s Konstantina Kotzamani (the feature-length directorial debut by the screenwriter of Arcadia), which is set in the scintillating teenage universe of a special boarding school in Japan that trains teenage girls to be professional mermaids. Here, 17-year-old Akame will find her siren voice, discover first love and experience a metamorphosis. Produced by Greece’s Homemade Films in co-production with Germany’s Wunderlust, Romania’s deFilm, France’s Manny Films, Spain’s Frida Films and Japan’s Happinet Phantom Studios, the feature is further enhanced by the talents of Raphaël Vandebussche (Rodéo, Eat the Night), on board as DoP.
Paradise City Sales will be selling another feature debut screening as part of the Cannes selection: The Station by Scottish-Yemeni director Sara Ishaq (which emerged triumphant in last year’s Final Cut in Venice), set to be unveiled in competition in the 65th Critics’ Week. Penned by the director together with Jordan’s Nadia Eliewat, the story unfolds in Yemen, where Layal runs a women-only petrol station, a rare safe haven in a war-torn country. There, the rules are simple: no men, no weapons, no politics. When Layal’s younger brother faces enlistment, she reunites with her estranged sister to save the one life they still can. Production duties are handled by Georges Films (France) and Screen Project (Jordan), with One Two Films (Germany), Keplerfilm (Netherlands) and Barentsfilm (Norway) on board as co-producers.
Lastly, at the Marché du Film, Paradise City Sales will also be pressing on with sales for the Berlinale competition titles We Are All Strangers by Anthony Chen and Wolfram by Warwick Thornton, for A Family by Dutch director Mees Peijnenburg (also premiered at Berlin, in Generation) and for Tell Me Everything by Moshe Rosenthal (presented at Sundance), not to mention two titles in post-production: Love Lessons by France’s Martin Provost (see the article – starring Fabrice Luchini, Chiara Mastroianni, Emmanuelle Devos and Carole Bouquet) and the horror flick Baran: Inheritance by Malaysia’s Joel Soh.
(Translated from French)
