Venice award-winner ‘Familiar Touch’ lands sales including China (exclusive)

Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch, which won a trifecta of awards when it premiered at Venice, has been picked up for key territories.

Memento International has closed sales for Spain (Flamingo Films), China (HugoEast), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and airlines (Skeye). It was previously acquired by Gulf Film for the Middle East and will screen at the Red Sea International Film Festival this week.

The story follows an octogenarian woman adjusting to life in an assisted living facility as her dementia causes her to shift between age identities. It won a trifecta of trophies when it premiered in Venice’s Horizons section including the Lion of the Future award for best debut film and Horizons’ best director prize and best actress for lead Kathleen Chalfant.

Friedland wrote the script and produces with Alexandra Byer’s Rathaus Films and Matthew Thurm’s Go For Thurm. Co-stars include Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen, and H. Jon Benjamin. The residents and staff of Villa Gardens, a continuing care retirement community, also participated as both cast and crew.

Previous sales include Arizona Distribution in France, Fandango in Italy, Vedette in Benelux, Edge in Scandinavia and the Baltics and Imovision in Brazil.

The film has played at more than a dozen festivals including BFI London Film Festival, AFI Fest, and Stockholm IFF and has earned a slew of prizes for best film and screenplay.

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