In an early litmus test of the commercial appeal of Official Selection titles, Benelux’s leading arthouse buyers have swept in to each buy a haul.
Pim Hermeling’s September Film, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, snapped up Dry Grasses, La Chimera, Club Zero, Monster, Fallen Leaves and Last Summer at script stage, as well as Salem in Un Certain Regard and Steve McQueen’s Occupied City.
In the market, the company has now picked up Beta Cinema’s One Last Evening which it will both release and look to remake, and Charades’ Northern Comfort, as well as Berlinale title, 20,000 Species Of Bees from Luxbox.
Rival Cineart has also bought multiple titles led by A Brighter Tomorrow, The Old Oak, and Four Daughters, as well as Frédéric Tellier’s Abbé Pierre, Amat Escalante’s Lost In The Night and Katell Quillévéré’s Along Came Love.
Its slate also includes Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan and Fien Troch’s Holly.
Last year’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness posted 300,000 admissions in the Netherlands while Directors’ Fortnight sensation Aftersun, also racked up 100,000 admissions.
However Hermeling has cautioned the indie distribution market, although bouncing back, is in danger of becoming over-saturated.
“Benelux is as competitive as before covid when it comes to acquisitions…lots of releases every week, kind of worries me, because quality films need ’legs’ in order to make it commercially and be successful,” he said. ” And with the number of releases every week we simply don’t have enough time in cinemas,”
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