Haut et Court has secured French rights to Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6, which has its world premiere in Competition at Cannes next month (July 6-17), from Paris-based sales agent Totem Films.

Screen can exclusively reveal a first trailer for the film.

Writer-director Kuosmanen won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in 2016 for his debut feature The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki.

Compartment No. 6 is produced by Jussi Rantamäki for Finland’s Aamu Film Company, and tells the story of a Finnish woman who escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads them to face the truth about their own yearning for human connection.

Shot between St Petersburg and Murmansk, it stars Seidi Haarla – recently named an EFP Shooting Star at the 2021 Berlinale – and Yuriy Borisov.

“The film is a real journey through Russia’s society with two unforgettable characters,” said Haut et Court co-founder Carole Scotta. “It is a generous homage to humanity, in all its contradictions.”

“Juho’s film is highly distinctive and a pure shot of blissful cinema,” added Totem Films co-founder Berenice Vincent. “The reaction so far has been wonderful and we’re delighted to continue working again, hand in hand with Haut et Court.”

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