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The Larrieu brothers’ Cannes melodrama Jim’s Story has sold to multiple territories as it enjoys a strong opening in its first week in French cinemas for Pyramide Distribution.

Pyramide International has sold the film to Filmin in Spain, Jmh in Switzerland, K-Films in Quebec, Panda in Austria, Paradiso in Benelux, Beta Film in Bulgaria, Falcon in Indonesia, and Nachson in Israel.

After debuting as a Cannes Premiere, Jim’s Story was released on August 14 and has sold 143,016 tickets (approximately €1.1m) in its first week in theatres, a strong opening for an arthouse title particularly during an August holiday week in the country.

Arte France Cinéma have come onboard in a co-producer capacity for upcoming projects by Jonathan Millet, veteran Italian filmmaker Francesca Comencini and the Larrieu Bros. All of these projects should premiere on the film fest circuit in 2024.

Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu are working on a book to film project titled Le roman de Jim. A 25 year spanning film, production has already begun with the likes of Sara Forestier, Bertrand Belin, Karim Leklou and Sara Giraudeau. Millet’s Les Fantômes (which we reported on back in November) will be the first film to move into production – and it has actors Adam Bessa and Tawfeek Barhom signed on for a July to September film production.…...

Following up his love-it-or-hate-it Climax, director Gaspar Noé secretly shot a new film this past spring and it’s among the additions to the Cannes Film Festival lineup, which also includes new work by Ari Folman, a Bill Murray concert film, Noémie Merlant’s directorial debut, and more.

As for the Enter the Void director’s latest, he shot Vortex over twenty days between mid-March and April 2021, with a cast including Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun, and Alex Lutz, as well as a budget of 3.3 million euros, more than his last two features. Check out a roughly-translated synopsis below via his Le Temps de Trout Tout:

Gaspar Noé, son of the Argentinian painter Luis Felipe Noé, finished his film at the last minute because he shot it quickly and late. A quasi-documentary film about the last days of a loving old couple suffering from senility, played by Françoise Lebrun and Dario Argento.

As expected, the Cannes Film Festival has made several additions to its lineup for the 74th edition which runs July 6-17. Among the major new titles are the latest from Gaspar Noé and Ari Folman, as well as a concert film starring Bill Murray who will be present in Cannes.

Noé’s Vortex, starring Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun and Alex Lutz will run in the new Cannes Première section. It’s billed as a quasi-documentary about the last years of a loving couple suffering from senility.

Waltz With Bashir filmmaker Folman is back with Where Is Anne Frank?, a contemporary, animated story that begins more than 70 years after the publication of The Diary Of Anne Frank, and brings to life her imaginary friend, Kitty. The film will run in the Out of Competition strand.

Added to Un Certain Regard is Yohan Manca’s Mes Frères Et Moi, a debut feature...

London-based boutique film sales outlet Film Republic has added Barbara Vekaric’s “Aleksi” to it slate. The company has unveiled a promo for the film, which is wrapping post-production.

The Croatian-Serbian co-production features Tihana Lazovic, who appeared in 2015 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner “Zvizdan” (The High Sun). She was selected by European Film Promotion as a Shooting Star at the Berlin Film Festival in 2016.

“Aleksi” tells the story of a post-graduate who returns home to help out on her parents’ vineyard on an idyllic Dalmatian island. A millennial in pursuit of a career abroad, she wastes away her summer indulging in parties and the night life the island has to offer, until she must face up to her responsibilities.

It is one of a number of films in Film Republic’s lineup that are female-centric. More than 60% of the slate comprises films by female directors — and about the same...

Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2014 discoveries”… Diego Ongaro: French singer Bertrand Belin, the town of Terlingua, Texas on the edge of Big Bend National Park, “Wrong Cops” by Quentin Dupieux.

Lavallee: Was the idea of the feature born from the short, or was the short an exploration of an eventual feature length film and what kind of work was involved in coming back to the character and story?

Ongaro: The idea of a feature film around the character of Bob sprouted as soon as I finished the short in 2010. The short already had a feature pace to it, despite being 28 minutes long. It already had the ambition to be a bigger film, I just didn’t know it yet. I was pleased with the very specific tone of the film and its unique setting and it was important to keep that style of storytelling, one that...