EXCLUSIVE: French outfit also scores sales on The Teacher and The Third Wave.

Ava

French sales company Bac Films is reporting strong interest for French director Léa Mysius’s debut feature Ava [pictured], which premiered to packed theatres in Critics’ Week at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The title has sold to Australia and New Zealand (Madman Entertainment), China (Lemon Tree), Taiwan (Catchplay), Switzerland (Praesens), and Turkey (Filmarti).

Bac sales chief Gilles Sousa said there was strong interest from several other territories, notably Benelux, Germany and the US.

The picture, which is in the running for Cannes Caméra d’Or as a first-time feature, stars rising French actress Laure Calamy as a teenager who is losing her sight and embarks on a momentous summer and steals a big black dog.

Other new Bac titles drawing buyers include Olivier Ayache-Vidal’s feel-good tale The Teacher starring Denis Podalydès as a teacher seconded to a tough school who strikes-up an unlikely rapport with a disruptive pupil. The film has sold to Spain (Caramel), China (Lemon Tree) and Brazil (Imovision).

Sousa also unveiled sales for David Freyne’s Ellen Page-starring zombie era drama The Third Wave which is in post-production ahead of an autumn launch.

Other upcoming titles on the Bac slate include Paolo Virzi’s The Leisure Seeker and Babak Jalali’s Land, which are both expected to launch in the autumn.

The film has sold to Greece (Spentzos Film), Middle East (Falcon), Turkey (Filmdom Media), Malaysia and Indonesia (Tanweer), Singapore (The Shaw Organisation), the Philippines (Silver Line), Thailand (Sahamongkolfilm), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Vietnam (Skyline). Fox has taken pan-Asian rights.

Other upcoming titles on the Bac slate include Paolo Virzi’s The Leisure Seeker and Babak Jalali’s Land, which are both expected to launch in the autumn.