Pathé Strikes Major Territory Deals On Keira Knightley Pic ‘Misbehaviour’, Festival Title ‘La Belle Epoque’ & Emma Mackey-Romain Duris Starrer — Cannes
EXCLUSIVE: French powerhouse Pathé has struck major territory deals on its Cannes slate, including Keira Knightley pic Misbehaviour, Cannes film festival title La Belle Epoque and Emma Mackey starrer Eiffel.
Nicolas Bedos’s Out Of Competition comedy-drama La Belle Epoque, whose starry French cast includes Daniel Auteuil, Guillaume Canet, Fanny Ardant and Doria Tillier, has sold to Germany (Constantin), Italy (IWonder Pictures), Latam/Spain (Sun, Diamond Films), Japan (Kinoshita), CIS + Baltics (Volga), Portugal (Cinemundo), Romania (Independenta), Ex Yougoslavia (MCF), Hungary (Cirko), Belgium (Alternative) and Greece (Rosebud 21). Pathé will release the French-language film in France and Switzerland in November 2019.
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The movie tells the story of sixty-something Victor, who sees his life turned upside down when an entrepreneur offers him a unique new brand of entertainment allowing him to relive the most memorable moment of his existence. Producers are Les Films du Kiosque, Orange Studio and Pathé.
On the Croisette, Pathé showed first footage of UK comedy-drama Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lesley Manville and Keeley Hawes. Buyers sparked to the footage with deals including Germany (eOne), Spain (Vertice 360), Italy (Bim), Benelux (Paradiso), Japan (Kinoshita), South Korea (Pan Cinema), CIS (Paradise), Poland (Best Films), Middle East (Phars) and South Africa (Empire).
Produced by Left Bank Pictures (The Crown) and backed by BBC Films, BFI, Ingenious and Pathé, Philippa Lowthorpe’s film tells the story of the 1970 Miss World competition and the birth of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the UK. Pathé will release in the UK, France and Switzerland in 2020.
Meanwhile, the French studio also launched sales here in Cannes on €22M ($20m) feature Eiffel, about the untold love story behind the creation of the Eiffel Tower. Emma Mackey, breakout star of Netflix hit show Sex Education, will make her French-language debut opposite French heartthrob Romain Duris (Heartbreaker).
Slated to start shoot in August 2019, the film has pre-sold to Germany (Constantin), Japan (Kinoshita), CIS + Baltics (Volga), Portugal (Cinemundo) and Israel (Lev Cinema). Directing is Martin Bourboulon and lead producer is Vanessa van Zuylen alongside Pathé.
Here on the Riviera, Pathé also revealed an exclusive new film production partnership with Philippe Rousselet’s Vendôme Group to develop and produce English-language films. The first project to be co-produced under the deal will be Coda, an English-language remake of the 2014 French box office hit La Famille Belier – written and to be directed by Sian Heder (Orange Is The New Black).
Pathé and Vendeome are also teaming with South Korea’s CJ Entertainment on an English-language remake of Korean box office hit The Merciless.
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