Memento International moves in for Venice Horizons title ‘Familiar Touch’ (exclusive)

France’s Memento International has added the English-language Venice Horizons title Familiar Touch to its festival slate.

Familiar Touch is the debut feature from US filmmaker Sarah Friedland and is about a woman’s transition to assisted living and the impact it has on her identity and desires.

Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen, and H. Jon Benjamin star.

“It is a coming-of-age film that reimagines the genre for an older woman,” explained Friedland. “It is both a character study and a portrait of caregiving relationships.”

Friedland wrote the script and produces with Alexandra Byer’s Rathaus Films and Matthew Thurm’s Go For Thurm. The film went through the Berlinale Talents programme’s Script Station and Projects Lab.

“It’s rare to find a film about aging that is so emotional and sensitive without being overly tragic. Sarah Friedland captures this contemporary societal topic with intimate delicacy and vibrant energy,” said a statement from Memento International.

The Paris-based company’s slate also features Will Seefried’s romantic drama Lilies Not For Me, Jonas Trueba’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight-winning Spanish comedy The Other Way Around and Guillaume Nicloux’s French biopic The Divine Sarah Bernhardt.

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