As per usual, French international sales agent Goodfellas will be well armed for both the present and the future at the European Film Market (running 13 to 19 February) hosted by the 75th Berlinale. Directed by Vincent Maraval, the firm will notably be wagering on three titles screening in the Official Selection, one of which is in the running for the Golden Bear, namely Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s French-German co-production, The Ice Tower [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lucile Hadžihalilović
scheda film], which features film star Marion Cotillard in the lead role.

Goodfellas will also be pinning its hopes on Growing Down [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Bálint Dániel Sós
scheda film], Hungarian director Bálint Dániel Sós’ debut feature film which is set to be unveiled in the new Perspectives section. This CineSuper production, whose screenplay (revolving around the moral dilemma faced by a father whose young son has committed a shocking act) was written by the director in league with Gergő V. Nagy, notably stars Szabolcs Hajdu, Ágoston Sáfrány and Anna Háy in its cast.

The third ace in the festival showcase and on whose behalf Goodfellas will be negotiating at the EFM, is No Beast. So Fierce. [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Burhan Qurbani
scheda film] by Germany’s Burhan Qurbani, who’s a familiar face at the Berlinale where he previously presented Shahada (Faith) [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] and Berlin Alexanderplatz [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Burhan Qurbani
scheda film] in competition in 2010 and 2020. Starring Kenda Hmeidan, Verena Altenberger and Hiam Abbass, among other names, this modern-day revisitation (based on a screenplay by the filmmaker and Enis Maci) of Shakespeare’s Richard III focuses on a character called Rashida. In the aftermath of a bloody gang war, the youngest daughter of the victorious Arab clan begins to plot against the men in her family. She kills brothers, nephews, friends and enemies until she’s the undisputed boss of the Berlin underworld. But she’s made some powerful enemies on her path to the top... The film was produced by Germany’s Sommerhaus Produktion, Poland’s Madants and French firm Getaway Films.

Goodfellas’ line-up is likewise bursting with promising works for the very near future, in the form of Vie privée by French director Rebecca Zlotowski (article - starring Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Mathieu Amalric and Virginie Efira), An Affair by fellow French filmmaker Arnaud Deplechin (starring François Civil, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Charlotte Rampling and Hippolyte Girardot), Renoir by Japan’s Chie Hayakawa (revealed via Plan 75 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Chie Hayakawa
scheda film] and awarded a Golden Camera Special Mention in Cannes 2022), Nightborn by Finland’s Hanna Bergholm (unearthed via Hatching [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Hanna Bergholm
scheda film]), Morte Cucina by Thailand’s Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Invisible Waves [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]), the British-French production The Carpenter’s Son by Lotfy Nathan (starring Nicolas Cage, FKA twigs, Noah Jupe and Souheila Yacoub) and Nico Ballesteros’ documentary In Whose Name?, which explores America through the eyes of Kanye West, not to mention The Fence by Claire Denis (currently in production and starring Matt Dillon, Mia McKenna-Bruce and Isaach de Bankolé) and Carlos Abascal Peiró’s French-Belgian production Prime Rush, which is a political comedy starring François Cluzet, Jean Chevalier, Karin Viard and Alex Lutz and which is due for release in French cinemas on 26 March.

And, as if that weren’t enough, Goodfellas have also just added to their Berlin line-up Fjord by Romania’s Cristian Mungiu (read our news - starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve), The Beloved (El ser querido) by Spain’s Rodrigo Sorogoyen (news – starring Javier Bardem, Victoria Luengo, Raúl Arévalo and Marina Foïs), Fuori by Italy’s Mario Martone (article – toplined by Valeria Golino), Woman and Child by Iran’s Saeed Roustaee (Leila’s Brothers, Law of Tehran), Once Upon a Time In Gaza by Palestinian brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser (Gaza mon amour [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]), The Stories by Egypt’s Abu Bakr Shawky (Yomeddine [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: A.B. Shawky, Dina Emam
scheda film]), Exit 8 by Japan’s Genki Kawamura (awarded Best Director in San Sebastián 2022, thanks to A Hundred Flowers) and the documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 by Haiti’s Raoul Peck.