Screen profiles a selection of the key titles available to American Film Market buyers at various stages of production from Europe.
Apple Cadabra: I Shrunk Myself
Dirs. Ute von Münchow-Pohl, Felix Schichl
German animation and family fare specialist Epsilon has first footage of its new film based on the bestselling Petronella Applesauce books, about two children who are magically shrunk into a miniature world. It is produced by Dirk Beinhold and Valentin Greulich through Akkord Film, the animation studio whose hits include Rabbit Academy and The Elfkins. Co-director von Münchow-Pohl and co-screenwriter Claudio Winter also worked on the Elfkins and Rabbit Academy franchises. Tobis will give the film a major release in Germany.
Contact: Epsilon Film
Daughter Of Eden
Dir. Fateme Ahmadi
Hiam Abbass, Yasmin Al-Khudhairi, Amir El-Masry and Lindsay Duncan star in this psychological thriller set in 2006 London. A British Iraqi nurse searches for answers about her parents’ fate, and she is drawn into the life of an elderly woman she suspects of betraying them to Saddam Hussein’s regime. Lunapark Pictures, Shudder Films and Newgrange Pictures produce. The project was developed and is co-financed by the BFI and BBC Film, with additional support from Screen Ireland, Civic Studios and Three Point Capital.
Contact: Lucky Number
The Dregs
Dir. Connor Martin
In this English-language horror comedy, a group of friends in the Italian Alps fight for survival after drinking cursed grappa that causes them to disappear one by one. Martin’s directorial debut stars Baby Reindeer breakout Nava Mau alongside Maddie Phillips, Charlie Gillespie, Piper Curda, Stephen Lang and Shohreh Aghdashloo. Myra Productions, Fraulein, Rosewood Pictures and Astral Plane produce.
Contact: WTFilms
Falcon
Dir. Marco Bellocchio
One of the most anticipated films to come out of Italy next year is a biopic of Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne, who led the struggling Italian car manufacturer out of bankruptcy in the early 2000s. He conquered the US market by merging with Chrysler, but paid a heavy personal price. Veteran Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino plays Marchionne with Louis Garrel co-starring as John Elkann, the young Fiat heir burdened by his family’s legacy who Marchionne takes under his wing. Bellocchio has co-written the script with Ludovica Rampoldi, Andrea Di Stefano, Stefano Rulli and Oliviero Del Papa. The film is being produced by Kavac Film, Rai Cinema and Emotion Network.
Contact: Fulvio Firrito, Rai Cinema International Distribution
High In The Clouds
Dirs. Toby Genkel, Christian De Vita
Paul McCartney’s long-anticipated animated musical adventure will have its first work-in-progress market screening at AFM more than two decades after it was first announced in 2013. The story follows a teenage squirrel leading a rebellion against a tyrannical owl who has banned music. Celine Dion joins McCartney, Himesh Patel, Hannah Waddingham, Idris Elba, Lionel Richie and Ringo Starr in the voice cast, and will perform original songs written by McCartney. CAA Media Finance is repping North America.
Contact: Gaumont
Incidents Of Intimacy
Dir. Jesper Just
Trine Dyrholm, Christian Slater and Dree Hemingway will star in Just’s debut feature, the latest in a new series of Dogma 25 films. It centres on a woman who constructs intimacy by stealing objects from people and filing them in an archive until they begin to take on a life of their own. It is the second Danish Dogma 25 title to head towards production after Isabella Eklöf’s Mr. Nawashi. All of the projects are being financed by Zentropa, DR and Nordisk Film Distribution, with the addition of Netflix in the Nordics, which has taken local streaming rights.
Contact: TrustNordisk
The Last Dino
Dir. Federico Milella
Featuring Bill Nighy, Hayley Atwell and Maisie Williams in its voice cast, Milella’s CGI family animation has a market premiere at AFM and is produced by UK animation studio Red Star, the team behind The Amazing Maurice. It tells the story of Rex, a dinosaur prince who is transported to the 21st century in a time machine, where he teams up with a motley crew to find his way home, 65 million years in the past. The $11m (€10m) project has pre-sold to territories including France, Italy, Scandinavia, Australia-New Zealand and UK-Ireland.
Contact: Global Constellation
The Neverending Pillow Fort
Dir. Allison Brownmoore
This CGI animated family adventure is having a market premiere at AFM. Featuring David Tennant, Guy Pearce and Teresa Palmer among its voice cast, the US-Australia co-production follows two children whose make-believe adventures lead to the discovery of a magical pillow that can teleport them anywhere in the world. Bafta TV-nominated Brownmoore’s credits include 2020 animated short The Amazing Adventures Of Awesome, while Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) co-wrote the screenplay. It is produced through Mimo Animation Studios with support from Crayola Studios and Like A Photon Creative.
Contact: Isabel Schneider, Sola Media
The Reception
Dir. Trudie Styler
Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce, Dominic West, John Cleese and Portia de Rossi are among the ensemble cast for this comedy, set on a grand Scottish estate and centring on a lavish wedding party that spirals out of control when the groom abandons the bride at the altar. It marks Styler’s fourth feature-length directing project, and she produces alongside her Maven Screen Media partner Celine Rattray and Tempo Productions’ Piers Tempest. CAA Media Finance represents domestic rights.
Contact: Beta Cinema (international)
There’s Someone In The Garden
Dir. Jaume Balaguero
The latest psychological horror from Spanish genre specialist Balaguero, director of the internationally successful [REC] franchise and Sleep Tight, stars Money Heist’s Ursula Corbero and is inspired by real-life events in 1990s Spain. A 10-year-old girl suspects her family’s new home is haunted, only to uncover a far more unsettling secret — the house is not cursed but is hiding a crime. Feelgood Media, Kowalski Films, Minoria Absoluta and Soterrani Films AIE are producing, with Movistar Plus attached. Currently in pre-production, There’s Someone In The Garden is being introduced to buyers at AFM ahead of a planned 2027 release.
Contact: Film Factory Entertainment
The Way We Fall
Dir. Cyril Gelblat
Jean Dujardin stars as a charismatic art history professor whose romance with a single mother (Marie Gillain) is tested after the birth of their daughter. His increasingly erratic behaviour culminates in a manic episode, hospitalisation and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Marthe Keller, Michel Fau and Jacques Weber also star. Sarah Kaminsky, Laetitia Colombani and Kamir Aïnouz wrote the screenplay, and Paris-based Atelier de Production produces.
Contact: Studio TF1
Zoma
Dir. Alireza Golafshan
Leonie Benesch, Barbara Sukowa, Tom Schilling and Tobias Moretti star in this thriller about a young lawyer who takes on the titular Zoma, an AI therapy app accused of driving a man to take his own life. The trial takes an unexpected turn when Zoma demands to testify in court. The film is produced by Story Garden Film and co-produced by Studiocanal and Bayerischer Rundfunk in association with Arte.
Contact: Chloe Marquet, Studiocanal
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