Luxembourgish Iris Group has unveiled a ten-picture slate of films due to be distributed in France and sold worldwide by its Paris-based partner Rezo.

Luxembourgish Iris Group, which announced it had acquired a stake in Rezo Films at Cannes last year, has unveiled a ten-picture slate of films due to be distributed in France and sold worldwide by its Paris-based partner.

“A year after we first announced our partnership we would like to present some of the fruits of this association,” commented Iris Group founding chief Nicolas Steil.

Upcoming productions include German director Marco Kreuzpaintner’s Rainer Werner Fassbinder biopic, Rainer; Italian Enzo d’Alo’s feature-length animation Pinocchio,and Franziska Buch’s Upgrade starring Sandrine Bonnaire as a chaotic writer.

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Alongside the co-production slate, the group is also involved in six festival titles including Bernard-Henri Lévy’s Oath of Tobruk, which Rezo sold to The Weinstein Company.

Under last year’s deal, Jean-Michel Rey’s Rezo Films became part of the Iris Group, which also includes French Drimage and subsidiaries in the UK, Belgium and Germany.

“The beauty of partnering with Rezo is that the group now has a dedicated sales operation for its films… it’s gives us extra muscle,” says Steil.  “It’s an extra, optional service we can offer our co-production partners.”

Rainer, for example, a co-production between Senator-owned Deutschfilm, Iris Productions and Rezo Productions, will be distributed in France by Rezo Films and sold internationally by Rezo World Sales.

Steil and Rey are expect to close financing of thepicture budgeted at €6 million film, at Cannes. 

The film is due to shoot from spring 2013, with a four- month break in the middle so the, as yet uncast, lead can fatten up for the scenes capturing Fassbinder final life.

“We’re currently casting… we’ve got to get it right,” says Steil.