Attending the EFM for the second time, French outfit Umedia (Urban Media International) has come on board as international sales agent on artist and filmmaker Johan Grimonprez's provocative new feature, Double Take.
The film, screening in Berlin's Forum, is a satirical, self-reflexive drama about Alfred Hitchcock, the Cold War, catastrophe TV and the fear of the 'other.'
Double Take lands on Umedia's Berlin slate alongside a handful of other titles screening in the market including Forum title Rachel directed by Simone Bitton, a feature documentary about the death of young American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March 2003 while she was trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home.
Also new on Umedia's slate is Nucingen Haus, the latest feature from prolific Chilean master Raul Ruiz, a gothic horror yarn shot in South America with a cast led by Jean-Marc Barr and Elsa Zylberstein. The film has been sold to Rai Trade for Italy. A French deal is also expected shortly.
In the run-up to the EFM, at the Paris Rendez-Vous screenings and in Sundance, Umedia closed a number of deals on older titles in its slate. The company sealed a US deal with IFC for Hong Sang-Soo's Night and Day as well as a domestic deal on Lee Isaac Chung's Rwandan-set Munyurangabo (Liberation Day) with Film Movement.
Also new on Umedia's slate is Dima El-Horr's Lebanese road movie Every Day Is A Holiday starring Hiam Abbass and Manal Khader about three women travelling through the desert to visit men in prison. The film is expected to be ready for Cannes, as will first time director Esmir Filho's Brazilian drama The Famous and the Dead which Umedia coproduced with Dezenove and Warner Bros South Inc.
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