Sales and festival executive Tommaso Priante has launched Italy-based sales outfit Luminalia which will make its market debut this week at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
The company arrives at Rotterdam with several titles already on its slate including Dominic Bekaert’s debut feature An Errand, which screens in IFFR’s Bright Future section. Adapted from Filipino writer Angelo Lacuesta’s short story, the film is about a chauffeur working for a businessman whose mind drifts between reality and fantasy while on a long and pointless journey.
Also on the slate is Maksud Hossain’s Bangladeshi drama Saba which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year and later played at the Red Sea, Busan and Göteborg film festivals. The film follows a young woman who is the only caregiver to her paralysed mother.
A third title on Luminalia’s inaugural slate is Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi’s Kyrgyzstan drama Deal At The Border about drug runners operating in the mountains of central Asia.
Priante has previously worked in acquisitions for Coproduction Office and Decker Distribution, and has worked for spells at TorinoFilmLab, Venice Production Bridge, IFFR’s ProHub and Italy’s MIA market.
“The idea is to navigate the whole spectrum of distribution, to try to expand the idea of distribution and to be a bit more creative,” Priante said.
As well as festival launches and traditional theatrical releases, Luminalia will explore screenings in institutions, universities and art spaces.
Priante said the company will look to protect producers’ rights, include them in the decision-making process and ensure their voices are heard. “The idea is really to try to open up the distribution model and try to make it more collaborative.”
After IFFR, the new company will go on to the European Film Market at Berlin. Luminalia will look to include six or seven films on its slate at this stage, and is primarily looking for completed titles or films in their latter stages.
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