Emma Roberts, Kristen Stewart, Javier Bardem Among Stars Headlining Buzzy Films in the European Film Market
The European Film Market kicks off on Thursday with a wide assortment of films from sellers around the world. Among the stars attached are Emma Roberts, Kristen Stewart, Javier Bardem, Daisy Ridley, Kate Hudson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ana de Armas and Amy Adams.
Below is a selection of what’s on offer for buyers.
At the Sea
Director: Kornél Mundruczó
Cast: Amy Adams, Murray Bartlett, Chloe East, Brett Goldstein, Dan Levy, Redding L. Munsell, Jenny Slate, Rainn Wilson
Synopsis: After rehab, a woman returns to her family’s seaside house, where sobriety forces her to confront buried trauma and the terrifying question of who she is without her career that once justified her self-destruction. Plays in Berlin competition.
Sales: MK2 Films (international); WME Independent (domestic)
A Body in the Woods
Director: Stephen Cognetti
Producer: Dave Caplan of C2 Motion Picture Group
Cast: Emma Roberts
Synopsis: Emma Roberts will play Alice Lincoln, a woman at the turn of the century living deep in the Marshall Woods, a place long-plagued by legends of a menacing witch. When Alice is left alone at her remote cabin to keep vigil over the body of an unidentified mine worker, unsettling disturbances in the dark lead Alice to fear the corpse may not be fully at rest. The appearance of a silent woman at the edge of the forest road traps Alice in a waking nightmare between the growing evil within and the nameless terror waiting beyond her door.
Sales: Manifest Pictures
Doctor Caligari’s Cabinet of Wonders
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Michael Shannon
Synopsis: A contemporary take on the iconic horror classic, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” stars Shannon as the titular villain, a traveling mesmerist who journeys from town to town with a sleepwalker under his control, leaving a trail of grisly murders in their wake.
Producers: Sébastien Raybaud and Brandt Wrightsman for Anton, alongside Drew Dowdle for Brothers Dowdle Prods. and Stuart Manashil
Sales: Anton (worldwide); Anton, CAA Media Finance (North America)
The Exiles
Director: Midi Z
Cast: Sam Worthington, David Duchovny, Ke-Xi Wu
Producers: Anita Gou, Tom Heller, Claudia Tseng, Midi Z, with Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Gabi Meyers
Synopsis: A desperate Westerner pursues greener pastures in Asia, where greed, rivalry and ego ultimately spiral into a shocking murder. Inspired by real-life events.
Sales: Mister Smith Entertainment (international), CAA (North America)
Full Phil
Director: Quentin Dupieux
Producer: Chi-Fou-Mi Prods.
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Woody Harrelson, Charlotte Le Bon, Emma Mackey
Synopsis: Philip Doom, a wealthy American business magnate, tries to reconnect with his daughter Madeleine during an opulent trip to Paris. But French cuisine, a 1950s horror film, and an invasive hotel employee soon threaten to disrupt the smooth running of their stay.
Sales: Studiocanal (rights available worldwide excluding: Benelux, France and Scandinavia)
The Girl
Director: Marina Ziolkowski
Cast: Dree Hemingway, Gore Abrams, Carolyn Kachen
Synopsis: The film unfurls the Roman Polanski’s 1977 sexual assault on Samantha Geimer and the aftermath as seen through the eyes of the young victim. Based on Geimer’s memoir.
Sales: West End
The Good Samaritan
Director: Pierre Morel
Cast: Daisy Ridley
Synopsis: When successful entrepreneur Dr. Rosalind Carver (Ridley) and her husband Matt rescue a wounded man drifting off the coast of Indonesia, they believe they’re saving a life – not stepping into a deadly conspiracy. Within hours, their yacht vanishes, Matt is abducted, and paradise turns into a trap. Rosalind’s only hope lies in Sean Fuller, a private military contractor whose motives are as mysterious as his past. Together, they must navigate a maze of deceit and violence in a land where no one can be trusted.
Producers: Mark Canton and Dorothy Canton of Canton Entertainment, Oakhurst Pictures, Renee Tab of Sentient Entertainment and David Hopwood
Sales: Highland Film Group (international); CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group (domestic)
Hello & Paris
Director: Elizabeth Chomko
Cast: Javier Bardem, Kate Hudson
Producers: Finola Dwyer, Fifth Season
Synopsis: Romantic comedy in which a fiercely independent landscape architect and a crisis-ridden bestselling novelist begin a sparky, transatlantic exchange over books and recipes—only to discover that the one thing harder than being alone might be choosing not to be.
Sales: 193, a Legendary Company
Last Flight
Director: Babak Anvari
Producers: Lucan Toh and Babak Anvari for Two & Two, Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland for SunnyMarch
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch
Synopsis: Pic unfolds over the final days of a 20-year war. The film follows Ali, a young Afghan man, who is fighting for his entire family’s life to find safe passage out of Afghanistan, before he is sent to certain death. To reach the border, he must put his trust in Kirk Johnson, an American stranger 7,000 miles away who is desperately trying to put the war behind him.
Sales: Protagonist Pictures (international); WME Independent (domestic)
Leviticus
Director: Adrian Chiarella
Cast: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, Zahra Newman, Mia Wasikowska
Synopsis: Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Sales: Neon (worldwide)
Milo
Director: Nicole Garcia
Producer: Trésor Films
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Théodore Pellerin, Artus, Laure Calamy
Synopsis: Alice arrives in a quiet provincial town and takes a job at a local café, blending easily into a life that isn’t hers. Her presence is no coincidence. She is there because of Milo, a young mechanic who works at a nearby garage. To him, Alice is a stranger. To her, he is someone tied to a past she has never truly left behind. As buried tensions begin to surface and Milo drifts toward uncertain ground, both are pushed to a crossroads: is it possible to rebuild a bond that shattered decades ago?
Sales: Studiocanal (rights available worldwide excluding Benelux, France and Switzerland)
Skeletons
Director: JT Mollner
Cast: Brie Larson
Producers: Drew Simon (Infrared), J.J. Abrams and Jon Cohen (Bad Robot) and Jack Heller (Assemble Media)
Synopsis: “Skeletons” is a modern take on the creature horror film told from the perspective of a young boy who slowly begins to discover that his beloved parents are hiding a disturbing secret about his mother’s true nature.
Sales: FilmNation Entertainment (international); FilmNation, CAA Media Finance and WME Independent (domestic)
Soon You Will Be Gone and Possibly Eaten
Director: Egor Abramenko
Cast: Sophie Wilde
Synopsis: The high concept sci-fi thriller follows Rob and Sabile, a young engaged couple, who head to a secluded mountain resort to take their vows and step into the new chapter of their shared lives. What was planned as a joyous wedding attended by family members takes a different turn when unexpected guests crash the ceremony.
Producers: Sébastien Raybaud for Anton, Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund for Eat the Cat, Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks for Divide/Conquer and Dawn Olmstead and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content
Sales: Anton (worldwide); Anton, Anonymous Content and WME Independent (domestic)
Sunflower Child
Director: Jamie Touche
Writer: Jennifer James
Cast: Gavin Casalegno, Jennifer James, Daniela Norman, Muhannad Ben Amor, Maddie Close
Synopsis: Caught between the promise of Hollywood fame and preserving her artistic voice, a young screenwriter (James) unexpectedly falls for an aspiring director (Casalegno). But she soon comes face to face with the challenges of betrayal and the cost of success in order to follow her heart.
Producers: Joseph Goldman for Double J Prods., in association with Nebel Prods. and in partnership with PickleJar Entertainment Group.
Sales: MSR Media Intl.
Sweat
Director: J Blakeson
Producers: Guy Stodel, J Blakeson, Stuart Ford
Cast: Ana de Armas
Synopsis: Based on the Polish film written and directed by Magnus von Horn, “Sweat” follows ambitious fitness influencer Emma Kent (de Armas), who dreams of matching the success of her idol, social media superstar Kat Highbrook. When an encounter with Kat goes horribly wrong, Emma’s carefully curated world begins to collapse and she is forced into a dangerous arrangement with Trent, an obsessive fan, whose unhinged devotion pushes Emma to choose how far she’s willing to go for fame.
Sales: AGC Intl.
The Worst
Director: Simon Woods
Producers: Andy Berg and John Sachs of Eclipse Films; Josh Hyams of Promise Pictures.
Cast: Keira Knightley, Alicia Vikander, Jamie Dornan, Erin Kellyman
Synopsis: Socialite Emily Fisher (Vikander) and her husband Max invite their equally wealthy friends to their new chateau in France for the night. Among the guests are a group of people who really can’t stand each other: Holly (Knightley), a struggling diversity consultant who continuously clashes with everyone until she gets a migraine, and Danny (Dornan) a quick-witted talent agent that name-drops his client list every chance he gets. As the evening begins to unravel and dark secrets are revealed, waitress Niamh (Kellyman) finds herself right in the middle of their chaos.
Sales: Protagonist Pictures (international); UTA independent Film Group (domestic)
Wildwood
Director: Travis Knight
Producer: Laika
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, Richard E. Grant.
Synopsis: After her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows, a headstrong teenager and her unlikely companion undertake a daring rescue mission inside an enchanted forest on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., in this stop-motion animated feature.
Sales: FilmNation Entertainment (international sales); Laika has partnered with Fathom Entertainment for U.S. theatrical distribution.
