News

“Amelie” director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has assembled a high-profile international cast for his next film, “Violette,” based on Valérie Perrin’s literary sensation “Fresh Water for Flowers” (“Changer l’eau des fleurs”), which sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

Matthias Schoenaerts (“Rust and Bone”), Melvil Poupaud (“Jeanne du Barry”), Anouk Grinberg (“The Innocent”), Sergio Castellitto (“Conclave”) and Alban Lenoir (“Lost Bullet”) have joined the cast and will star opposite Cesar-winning French actor Leila Bekhti, who was previously announced.

“Violette” is produced by Carlo Degli Esposti and Nicola Serra at Palomar, and Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber at 24 25 Films. Both companies are owned by Mediawan. The production kicked off on May 5 for a 13-week shoot across Burgundy, the Paris region, and the South of France.

Co-written by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant, “Violette” sees Bekhti play Violette Toussaint, a beloved cemetery caretaker whose peaceful life – filled by conversations with quirky workers and the...

The Taliban’s sweep to power in Afghanistan in 2021 serves as the backdrop to “Kabul,” one of France’s most ambitious international thriller dramas to date.

The six-part geopolitical show, which is world premiering today at Series Mania in Lille, emerged from the first-hand experience of producer Fabienne Servan-Schreiber who played a direct role in the chaotic evacuation efforts.

While vacationing in Greece with her son (and fellow producer) Matthias Weber, Servan-Schreiber heard of the situation in Kabul and got fully involved in efforts to rescue multiple families of Afghan artists and doctors.

Speaking to Variety along with Weber on the eve of “Kabul”‘s presentation at Series Mania, Servan-Schreiber says she was initially contacted by Jean-Michel Frodon, a film historian and journalist, who was looking for help to raise funds to buy plane tickets for a group of Afghan artists.

“I sent the email to everyone in my address...

Mediawan Rights has boarded “Kabul,” a highly anticipated thriller series produced by France’s 24 25 Films and Cinétévé.

Shervin Alenabi (“Tehran”) and “Euphoria’s” Eric Dane (in a small role) have joined the international cast of the show, which already comprises Jonathan Zaccaï (“Le bureau des legendes”), Thibault Evrard (“The Night of the 12th”), Vassilis Kukalawi (“Kandahar”), Jeanne Goursaud (“Pax Massilia”), Gianmarco Saurino (“L’estate piu Calda”) and Valentina Cervi (“Medici: Masters of Florence”).

The series, set against the backdrop of U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and Taliban’s sweep to power, just started filming on April 1. Mediawan Rights will introduce the gripping series project to international buyers at upcoming markets, and is handling worldwide distribution with the participation of Entourage.

“Kabul” explores the chaotic evacuation of various characters, from diplomats to soldiers to civilians, who desperately seek refuge and solidarity in a country in crisis, with the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul.

Paris-based company 2425 Films, recently acquired by Mediawan, is working with a pool of rising filmmakers on timely movies, including Charly Delwart’s “1,5 degré,” Ilan Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” and Thomas Kruithof’s “Les Braises.”

2425 Films, founded by Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, has been thriving with smart, high-concept commercial movies, such as Yann Gozlan’s “La boite noire” and “An Ideal Man,” as well as the thriller “Burn Out.” The company also presented Gozlan’s latest film, “Visions,” a thriller starring Diane Kruger (co-produced by Eagle Team Entetainment) at this year’s Angouleme Film Festival.

Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” is a film set in the world of French politics, with a duo of French stars, Marina Fois and Laurent Laffite, who previously co-starred in “Papa ou Maman,” a French hit comedy franchise. Laffite, who also stars in Netflix’s limited series “Tapie,” plays...

Cannes may get all the attention, but France’s summer film festivals are essential launchpads for local features ready to hit the international market. Here are the ones to look out for.

In August of 2011, a little French film about the bond between a wealthy quadriplegic and his fun-loving caretaker premiered at a festival in a small Southwestern town in France.

Now in its 16th edition, The Angouleme Francophone Film Festival was the first stop for global sensation The Intouchables, which went on to gross more than $445m at the box office worldwide and even get its own US remake...

Burgeoning Paris-based film and TV content group Mediawan has acquired a majority stake in French production company 24 25 Films.

Led by co-founding producers Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, the company has a proven track record in producing mainstream box office hits in France.

Successes include Yann Gozlan’s 2021 Pierre Niney-starring mystery thriller Black Box, which grossed $9.4 million at the French box office, as well as the director’s previous film A Perfect Man.

Further productions include Thomas Kruithof’s political drama Promises as well as the award-winning comedy In The Game by Robin Sykes.

Its new action-comedy Cash by Jérémie Rozan, starring Raphaël Quenard, Agathe Rousselle and Igor Gotesman, has been in the number one slot on Netflix in France, since its launch on the platform on July 6.

24 25 Films joins a growing number of successful cinema-skewed companies operating under the Mediawan banner including Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Brad Pitt’s Plan B,...

The prolific Paris-based producers are behind a slew of successful features including Thomas Kruithof’s Promises with Isabelle Huppert.

European production powerhouse Mediawan has taken a majority stake in Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber’s 24 25 films.

The prolific Paris-based producers are behind a slew of successful features including Yann Gozlan’s Cesar-nominated Black Box, Thomas Kruithof’s Promises with Isabelle Huppert and most recently Jeremie Rozan’s action comedy Gold Brick (Cash) that has been the number 1 film on Netflix in France since its release on the streamer on July 6 and is currently in the Global non-English language top...

Snd has picked up the international distribution rights to “Visions,” Yann Gozlan’s (“Black Box”) psychological thriller starring Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”) and Mathieu Kassovitz (“The Bureau”).

The French Riviera-set movie, produced by Eagles Team Entertainment, 24 25 Films and Snd, just finished shooting in the South of France and Japan. Snd handles French distribution and worldwide sales rights. The theatrical release is planned for 2023.

Kruger stars as Estelle, a brilliant airline captain who leads a seemingly perfect life with her husband Guillaume, a renowned doctor. When she accidentally bumps into Ana, a former flame, Estelle falls in love all over again. As their affair gets more intense, Estelle has recurring visions, nightmares and hallucinations, and when Ana disappears mysteriously, she starts losing grip on reality.

“Visions” marks Gozlan’s follow up to “Black Box” which was a major hit in France where it sold over 1.2 million admissions and traveled to 45 countries.

In the run up to MipTV, TF1 Group has acquired a trio of premium original French series, “I Killed My Husband,” “Marion” and “Elle’s Kitchen” for second-window rights from Paris-based TV sales banner Have A Good One (Hago).”

“I Killed My Husband,” which is produced by Henri Debeurme’s Next Episode with Hago, stars Erika Sainte (“Les Rivières Pourpres”) as a woman who’s been wrongly accused of murdering her husband. The series premiered on 13eme Rue in November and played at La Rochelle Fiction Festival.

“Marion,” which was co-produced by Mathieu Ageron at Nolita and Jacques Kluger at Darklight, is

based on the best-selling Edwige Marion novels written by Danielle Thiéry. The series follows Marion, the newly appointed divisional commissioner of the railway brigade at Gare du Nord who investigates the darkest criminal cases with her own style while raising her adopted daughter.

Set to premiere on 13eme...

Paris-based production banner Cinetévé is powering up several international-driven premium series across different genres, including the contemporary Afghanistan-set “Kabul,” procedural “Birdwatcher,” mystery thriller “L’ile prisonnière,” feminist dramedy “Split” and a French adaptation of “On the Spectrum.”

“Kabul,” co-developed by Cinétévé’s Thomas Saignes, Fabienne Servan Schreiber, Matthias Weber and Thibault Gast at 2425 Films, is a six-part thriller set between the Taliban’s sweep to power on Aug. 14 and the closure of borders two weeks later. The series is being penned by Olivier Demangel, whose credits include Cedric Jimenez’s upcoming movie “November,” Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Thomas Finkielkraut’s “Les guerriers.”

Saignes, who joined Cinetévé in late 2017 as a driving force behind the company’s push into international series, stated that “Kabul” will revolve around the refugee crisis that was prompted by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, describing how locals and expats embarked on a race against...

Virginie Boireaux, the former head of Playtime’s TV sales and acquisitions, has joined forces with Charades’ former chairman Constantin Briest to launch Have A Good One (Hago), a Paris-based international TV development, co-production and sales company.

Hago is rolling out the new banner at Series Mania with a strong first slate, including “I Killed My Husband,” a six-part thriller from former Empreinte Digitale producer Henri Debeurme (“Lazy Company”), and “Cuisine Interne,” a genre-bending crime thriller drama about a French chef involved with shady partners, from Cinetévé (“Parliament”) and 24-25 Films (“Les Promesses”).

“I Killed My Husband,” which Hago is co-producing on top of handling international sales, is being produced by Debeurme’s new banner Next Episode for the French channel 13th Street. Selected at La Rochelle Fiction Festival, the series stars Erika Sainte as a woman who’s been wrongly accused of murdering her husband, and sets off to prove her innocence.

’Beautiful Minds’ is inspired by the real-life experiences of co-director Alexandre Jollien who was born with cerebral palsy but overcame his disabilities to study philosophy

Elle Driver has launched sales on Bernard Campan and Alexandre Jollien’s pioneering French comedy-drama Beautiful Minds, about a workaholic funeral director and a solitary vegetable delivery man and philosopher born with cerebral palsy, who embark on a road trip in a hearse.

It is inspired by the real-life experiences of Jollien who was born with cerebral palsy but overcame his disabilities to study philosophy and become became a major thinker and spiritual teacher, who has written several best-selling books.