Darín & Pauls

FilmSharks has announced a handful of deals with blue-chip distributors led by the US and UK on a remastered 4K version of Nine Queens, the Argentinian crime thriller that launched the career of Ricardo Darin.

Sony Pictures Classics has renewed its agreement for North America and has re-released the film digitally, 22 years after it initially distributed it, while Curzon has acquired rights for the UK.

In other deals, Warner Bros Discovery has acquired rights for Eastern Europe and A Contracorriente will distribute in Spain.

The late Fabián Bielinsky’s Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas, 2000) stars Darin and Gaston Pauls as conmen trying to sell a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps to a collector. Leticia Bredice also stars.

The restored version screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin last month. Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks previously struck deals with Disney’s Star Distribution and Disney+ for Latin America, and with Eurozoom for France.

Talks are ongoing for Italy, German-speaking territories, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, as well as for a Spanish-language television remake.

FilmSharks head Guido Rud noted Nine Queens is one of several remastered Latin American classics his company is handling, among them Bielinsky’s The Aura, and two from Juan José Campanella: comedy Son Of The Bride and sports story Avellaneda’s Moon. All three star Darin.