'Silent Rebellion'

Source: Box Productions / Pierre Daendliker

‘Silent Rebellion’

EXCLUSIVE: Salaud Morisset has scored its first sales for Swiss director Marie-Elsa Sgualdo’s debut feature Silent Rebellion (À bras-le-corps) to  Trent Film in Italy and Imagine Film in Benelux ahead of the film’s world premiere in Venice Film Festival’s new Spotlight section.

The period drama set in neutral Switzerland during World War II follows a 15-year-old girl who gets pregnant after being raped and goes on to defy her repressive rural Protestant community and carve a path of her own.

Lila Gueneau, who starred in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight breakout film Eat The Night, leads the cast alongside Gregoire Colin, Thomas Doret and Aurelia Petit. The Swiss-French-Belgian co-production is the debut feature for Sgualdo whose shorts have earned prizes at global festivals.

Silent Rebellion is produced by Elena Tatti and Nicolas Wittwer for Switzerland’s Box Productions. Co-producers are Belgium’s Hélicotronc, France’s Offshore alongside RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse. Outside the Box will release the film in Switzerland in February of 2026.

Paris and Berlin-based international sales agent Salaud Morisset previously teamed with Sgualdo on her short film You Can’t Do Everything At Once, But You Can Leave Everything At Once, that premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Salaud Morisset’s founder and head of international sales François Morisset adds: “We’re excited to have brought together such strong partners early on. The idea is to join forces from the very first steps, working collectively to champion Marie-Elsa Sgualdo and bring Silent Rebellion— a universal and deeply contemporary story — from its Venice premiere to audiences around the world.”

Imagine Film’s Joan Aguilar cited Sgualdo’s “bold new cinematic voice” and the film’s “power and sensitivity.”

Trent Film’s Pietro Liberati said the film is “a portrait of an indomitable woman ahead of her time.” He explains: “Releasing the film in Italy as part of a broader European network gives it the trajectory and visibility it deserves.”

Silent Rebellion premieres on September 1 in Venice.

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