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Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has closed multiple deals for Cannes Film Festival titles “Power Alley” by Lillah Halla, and “Let Me Go” by Maxime Rappaz, which are both female-led films.

Cannes Critics’ Week title “Power Alley,” set in Brazil, follows talented volleyball player Sofia who discovers she is pregnant on the eve of a career-defining game. Seeking an abortion, which is illegal in Brazil, she is confronted by a fundamentalist group who become fixated on stopping her. The film puts sisterhood and collective resistance at the forefront of the story.

“Power Alley” has been sold to Njuta Films, which will distribute in Sweden, September, which will handle the release in Benelux, Cineworx for Switzerland, and Leopardo Filmes for Portugal. The film was already sold to AX1 Films (U.K. and Ireland), and Øst for Paradis (Denmark).

M-Appeal also closed further deals for Cannes Acid title “Let Me Go,” starring Jeanne Balibar.

Swiss director Maxime Rappaz isn’t sure if there is more space for stories about more mature women these days. But he is certainly willing to give it a try.

“I am fascinated by that phase in someone’s life,” he tells Variety, opening up about his fiftysomething protagonist played byJeanne Balibar.

“I want as many people as possible to see it, that’s for sure. But also women who think it’s already too late for them to change things. If this film can trigger something in them, it would make me so happy.”

In his feature debut “Let Me Go,” the opening film of Cannes’ Acid sidebar, Claudine keeps dedicating herself to her differently abled, Princess Diana-obsessed son.

But every once in a while, she puts on the same white dress and heads to the same hotel in the mountains, where she meets and romances men. The shorter their stay,...

Jeanne Balibar stars in Swiss film directed by Maxime Rappaz.

German sales agent M-Appeal has closed two major territories on its Cannes Acid title Let Me Go (Laissez-Moi), starring Jeanne Balibar.

The film has sold to Mimosa Films for Japan and PoongKyung SoRi (Scene & Sound) for South Korea, both in all rights deals. These follow from a German deal struck with Alamode earlier in the week. French distribution will be handled by Eurozoom.

The feature debut of Switzerland’s Maxime Rappaz, Let Me Go follows Claudine (Balibar), an elegant woman in her early 50s, whose life is dedicated to taking care of her son.

Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has closed a deal for German distribution rights for “Let Me Go” with Alamode Film, ahead of the film’s world premiere as the opening film of Cannes Acid sidebar next week.

“Let Me Go” (Laissez-Moi), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, is set in a remote Swiss mountain village, where Claudine (Jeanne Balibar) lives a life dedicated to taking care of her son. Every Tuesday, however, she has an afternoon to herself and goes to a nearby hotel to meet men passing through. She pursues her desires in a carefully controlled way, so as not to interfere with her life, but when she meets Michael (Thomas Sarbacher) everything changes.

Rappaz worked with acclaimed DoP Benoît Dervaux (collaborator of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) to capture the Swiss mountain landscape in a timeless way. Echoing the circumstances of the film’s female lead, the mountain...

Berlin sales agency M-Appeal has come on board to handle world sales for “Let Me Go” (“Laissez-Moi”), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, which will world premiere as the opening film of the Cannes Acid sidebar.

Set in a Swiss mountain village, “Let Me Go” follows Claudine, a dedicated mother whose life revolves around her son. Every Tuesday, according to her careful schedule, she goes to a nearby mountain hotel to meet men who are passing through. When she meets Michael and he decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life.

French actress Jeanne Balibar stars in the lead role of Claudine, an elegant woman in her early 50s, who, although living a traditional life, pursues her desires in an unconventional way. She unexpectedly finds a romantic connection with Michael (Thomas Sarbacher).

A regular on the Croisette and...

Acid focuses on first films and films without French distribution.

France’s Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (Acid) has unveiled the nine features it will showcase in its parallel Cannes section, running May 17-26. Acid focuses on films without French distributors and first features.

Six titles are world premieres including Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s animated family film Chicken For Linda!, which stars Laetitia Dosch and Clotilde Hesme in a story about a mother who feels guilty for punishing her daughter and tries to make it up to her by making her favourite chicken dish. Charades are handling international sales.

UK-us firms Signature Films and Tea Shop Productions are producing.

Production has wrapped in Minnesota, US on Keir O’Donnell’s romantic heist Marmalade, starring Stranger Things’ Joe Keery alongside Camila Morrone and Aldis Hodge.

Marmalade is produced by Signature Films, the production arm of Marc Goldberg’s Signature Entertainment; and UK-us production firm Tea Shop Productions. The producers are Sarah Gabriel and Goldberg for Signature Films, with James Harris and Mark Lane for Tea Shop. The film is made in association with Jason Shapiro of US management company Silver Lining Entertainment.

The directorial debut of Australian actor turned O’Donnell, Marmalade...

The Cnc-backed film came through the Les Arcs Coproduction Village in 2019.

French actress Jeanne Balibar and Germany’s Thomas Sarbacher will lead the cast of Swiss feature Laissez-moi, a mountain-set drama about a woman who finds an unexpected romantic connection.

The film will start shooting on August 8 in Switzerland, with Pierre-Antoine Dubey also on the cast. It is the debut feature of Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, who previously made 2018 short Tenderness.

Laissez-moi tells the story of Claudine, a woman who entrusts her disabled son to a neighbour every Tuesday, while she satisfies her sexual desires with different men in a hotel.

Exclusive: Deutschland 83 co-creator Jörg Winger’s latest drama series Ouija has added Starzplay as co-producer and the show has set cast, Deadline can reveal.

Co-created by Thomas Bourguignon (Réunions), the France Télévisions series was one of the first development projects detailed when Winger unveiled the Fremantle-backed Big Window Productions, which sits within his former company UFA Fiction. Ouija is co-produced by Big Window and Kwaï, another Fremantle label. Bourguignon is directing.

Principal photography has kicked off in Nice and the surrounding area, with Ophelia Kolb, Katharina Schüttler, Stefan Konarske and Bruno Solo set to lead.

The fast-paced supernatural coming-of-age story recalls the creators’ time partaking in German-French exchange programs.

Set against the backdrop of a generational saga, the six-parter focuses on such an exchange taking place during the 1982 football World Cup but tells the story of characters from three generations – one who fought during World War Two, one...

The 2017 Berlin Film Festival begins this week and will feature a host of world premieres, but there are still films from last year’s festival that have yet to be distributed or released in the United States. One of them is Piotr J. Lewandowski’s film “Jonathan,” about a young man who discovers his father’s long-repressed secret.

Read More: The 2016 Indiewire Berlin International Film Festival Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During Run of Festival

The film follows farmhand Jonathan (Jannis Niewöhner) who devotes himself to looking after his terminally ill father Burghardt (André Hennicke), but when Burghardt’s long-lost friend Ron (Thomas Sarbacher) comes to town, Jonathan discovers the two were once deeply in love. Jonathan grapples with his father’s sexuality, along with his new relationship with young caretaker Anka (Julia Koschitz), and struggles to accept him before his death. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.