Sony’s $60m acquisition of Tom Hanks comedy A Man Called Otto delivered a shot of adrenalin into the first days of the EFM market and was swiftly followed by some eye-catching deals on the early festival titles.
Golden Bear contender Fire has sold to 30 territories for Anton and Wild Bunch International (WBI) and further competition films Rimini (Coproduction Office) and Return To Dust (m-appeal) as well as Berlinale Special Gala titles Call Jane (Protagonist) and Dark Glasses (WBI) have also posted sales.
There is also buzz around Competition titles Robe Of Gems and Nana: Before, Now & Then as well as Flux Gourmet in Encounters, even if deal-making is taking place at a more sedate pace than at a buzzy all-physical market.
Sales agents, mainly those with films in the festival, who made the trip to Berlin said it has been worth their while. “There are key European and especially German distributors here on the ground and the meeting schedule has been busy and business brisk,” said Stephen Kelliher, managing director of Bankside Films.
“It’s been a strange market but the buyers are clawing their way back,” said another French sales agent.
Sellers working remotely said they were pleased by the engagement of buyers online. “Our first EFM screening of Give Me Pity had 100 attendees,” said Miguel Angel Govea of French-based sales and production company Alief, of Amanda Kramer’s Rotterdam title. “There were a lot of Americans and Asians, and they were really looking at stuff.”
US packages drawing heat include a remake of Thai thriller Bad Genius, spearheaded by Picture Perfect Federation’s Patrick Wachsberger and Erik Feig’s Picturestart, Rich Flu, starring Rosamund Pike, and Phillip Noyce’s action film Fast Charlie.
”With almost 600 companies from 63 countries presenting more than 800 films in market screenings the market is doing even better than last year - and this is only mid-market,” said EFM director Dennis Ruh.
This market activity bodes well for Cannes, suggested Michael Paszt, the managing partner at Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner. “These past two years have given us perspective and hopefully a renewed vigour on how to approach the sales and festival process,” he said. “There’s an upbeat mood in the air. Hoping this is a positive sign for a physical Cannes market.”
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