eOne AFM-bound with Mommy

eOne Films International will kick off pre-sales in earnest in Santa Monica next week following a soft launch in Toronto when Diaphana acquired France and Cinemien took Benelux.

The French-language story is set in a fictitious Canada where distressed parents are allowed to hand over their troubled children to the hospital system.

When a feisty widow struggling to cope with her ADHD son receives help from a mysterious neighbour she begins to question their destiny.

Mommy stars Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clément, both of whom worked with Dolan on I Killed My Mother, alongside Antoine Olivier Pilon. Nancy Grant produces.

“I am delighted to work with eOne,” said Dolan (pictured, at right). “I feel that together and with their expertise, I can grow as an artist and aim for more ambitious projects and that makes me strive for perfection. It’s honestly stimulating.”

“We’ve wanted to work with Xavier Dolan on the international side for some time and we’re going to learn from him,” said eOne vp of international sales Anick Poirier. “He’s one of the most exciting young artists in the world in, any medium.”

“Every new film [Dolan] creates challenges distributors and audiences in the best possible way,” added eOne’s Charlotte Mickie.

The AFM sales roster includes Causeway Films’ elevated Australian horror drama The Babadook starring Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman.

Jennifer Kent directed and Kristina Ceyton produced the story of a single mother haunted by the violent death of her husband while struggling with her son’s fear that a monster lurks in the house.

eOne will also show buyers first footage in the form of promos for David Cronenberg’s Maps To The Stars and Matt Shakman’s Cut Bank.