Rai Trade seals AFM, Rome deals

Italy’s Rai Trade has racked up sales on paranormal genre debut Neverlake and Hong Kong-set thriller The Mercury Factor, after market premiering the titles at the AFM.

Miami-based Alebrije Entertainment acquired all Latin America rights for Riccardo Paoletti’s English-language, genre debut Neverlake. Uncork’d Entertainment picked up US rights and Los Banditos bought the film for Germany and Austria.

Set against the backdrop of Tuscany, the film stars British actress Daisy Keeping as a young girl who uncovers a terrifying secret when she visits her estranged archaeologist father who is obsessed with ancient Etruscans.

Luca Barbareschi’s The Mercury Factor, starring the director opposite rising Chinese star Zhang Jingchu, sold to Media Asia for China. The company said deals on the film were also imminent for the US, Canada and Korea.

The storyline is loosely inspired by the Italian bestseller I Trust You - a joint work by journalist Francesco Abate and top crime writer Massimo Carlotto - as well as the 2008 China milk scandal in which baby formula was bulked up with melamine, poisoning some 300,000 children.

In Rome, Rai Trade sealed deals on Gianni Amelio’s Venice screener L’Intrepido, starring Antonio Albanese as a man trying to stay afloat amid Italy’s economic downturn, which sold to Japan (Epcott), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films) and Latin America (Telefilms).

The Manetti Bros.’ Song e’ Napule, a tuneful, genre parody casting a loving glance on Naples and its criminal underworld which premiered at the Rome Film Festival, sold to Australia (Palace) and attracted interest from the UK, Israel, Taiwan and Japan.