Zion

Source: Magnify

Zion

Heading into the EFM next week, Magnify has acquired the global sales rights excluding France to Nelson Foix’s Guadeloupe-set crime thriller Zion.

Adapted from an award-winning short, Timoun Aw, the French-language feature takes place in the projects of the Caribbean island’s second city Pointe-à-Pitre and follows 26-year-old Chris (newcomer Sloan Decombes), who balances his time between drug deals, one-night stands, and motorcycle rides.

When Chris attracts the attention of local gang leader Odell, he is given a dangerous assignment. On the same day as the mission, Chris unexpectedly discovers an anonymous baby left at his doorstep. A gripping race unfolds as Chris finds himself forced to make a crucial decision on his nerve-racking journey.

The film also stars newcomers Philippe Calodat, Axelle Delisle, Cédric Valier “Zebrist” and singer-songwriter Saint-Eloi Dominique “Don Snoop”.

Laurence Lascary produces for De l’Autre Côté du Périph’ (The Climb), alongside Slievan Harkin (One Man And His Cow) and Jamel Debbouze (Amélie) for Kissfilms, and Black Moon Films.

Zion received the 2023 Les Arcs Alphapanda Audience Engagement Award and is a co-production with France 3 Cinéma with support by and developed with Canal+, Amazon Prime Video, and France Télévisions. The Jokers Films will distribute in France has scheduled a theatrical release for April 9.

“Zion is an impressive and well-crafted debut from Foix, who delivers a thrilling and complex narrative,” said Lorna Lee Torres, SVP of global sales at Magnify. “The film adeptly balances intense, nail-biting chase sequences with striking visuals, while also incorporating meaningful social commentary.”

“The idea for Zion came from an image: a young man walking through Pointe-à-Pitre’s ghetto with a baby. The contrast struck me. Chris, an irresponsible young man trapped in violence and social failure, is transformed by the baby’s arrival and its almost mystical presence,” said Foix, who was born in France and grew up between Guadeloupe and the Parisian suburbs. “I wanted to tell a universal story that immerses the audience in this explosive atmosphere while raising deeper, universal questions.”

Magnify’s EFM sales line-up includes Isabelle Huppert in The Blood Countess; Berlin Generation Kplus selection The Botanist; Sundance premieres Obex from Albert Birney and Endless Cookie from Seth and Peter Scriver; Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana in partnership with Film4, currently in post-production; and Bretten Hannam’s upcoming genre thriller Place Of Ghosts, also in post.

Lee Torres, director of global sales Austin Kennedy, and manager of global sales Phoebe Liebling will launch the film in Berlin.

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