Curzon acquires Cannes trio

UK distributor Curzon Artificial Eye has bolstered its Cannes coffers with the acquisitions of festival drama Son of Saul, Mustang and Percy Shelley biopic A Storm in the Stars.

Critically appreciated Palme d’Or contender Son of Saul looks at Jewish prisoners forced to assist the Nazis in the disposal of bodies at Auschwitz. The deal was negotiated with Films Distribution.

Mustang, playing in Directors Fortnight, from debut director Deniz Gamze Erguven is the story of five sisters growing up in a remote Turkish village who attempt to assimilate into the modern world, despite the pull of tradition from their family and community.

The deal was negotiated with Kinology.

Haifaa Al-Mansour’s (Wadjda) A Storm in the Stars, currently in pre-production, charts the love affair between poet Percy Shelley and 18 year-old Mary Wollstonecraft, later the writer of Frankenstein.

The film will star Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth and the deal was negotiated with Hanway Films.

As previously announced, Curzon Artificial Eye have acquired Cannes Competition films Mia Madre, Valley of Love and Gaspar Noe’s Love, which has a Special Midnight Screening in the festival.

Louisa Dent, MD of Curzon Artificial Eye, said: “We are incredibly proud to have added these film to what was already a stellar selection of Cannes acquisitions. What these films share, even through a diversity of stories and filmmaking styles is an astonishing level of surety and distinction.

“UK audiences will already be anticipating Son of Saul following the critical acclaim it has received in Cannes. We hope they will be as enamoredwith Mustang as we are,” she continued.

“Haifaa Al-Mansour is a director we have been following since her startling Wadjda and it is with great anticipation that we look forward to seeing what she does with a fantastic script about this most tumultuous of relationships.”