10/05/2024 - The company sells Grand Tour, The Girl with the Needle, Motel Destino and The Substance along with Ariane Labed’s first feature as a director September Says

The lineup of German sales agent The Match Factory at this year’s Cannes is made up of three competition titles and one Un Certain Regard title.

A Palme d’Or contender is Miguel Gomes's much-anticipated Grand Tour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Pa…
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] (Portugal/Italy/France/Germany/Japan/China). The Portuguese filmmaker, best known for Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] and the Arabian Nights [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] trilogy, tells a story set in Rangoon, Burma in 1917. Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Determined to get married and amused by Edward's move, Molly follows his trail on this Asian grand tour. The main cast includes Gonçalo Waddington, Crista Alfaiate, Cláudio da Silva and Lang Khê Tran.

Another main competition title is the third feature by Magnus von Horn (Sweat [+see also:
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interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile], The Here After [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile]), titled The Girl with the Needle [+see also:
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interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile] (Denmark/Poland/Sweden) and starring Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri and Vic Carmen Sonne in the leading roles. The Swedish helmer focuses on the story of Karoline (played by Sonne), a young factory worker struggling to survive in post-WW1 Copenhagen. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet nurse. A strong connection is formed between the two women, but Karoline's world shatters when she stumbles upon the shocking truth behind her work. The picture is inspired by a true story and promises to be “an unsettling tale about a woman struggling to find love and a sense of morality.”

Coming up next is Karim Aïnouz’s latest effort, Motel Destino [+see also:
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film profile] (Brazil/France/UK/Germany), also premiering in the French gathering’s main competition. The Brazilian director visited the Croisette with the Alicia Vikander- and Jude Law-led period drama Firebrand [+see also:
film review
film profile] only last year. In detail, the neon-hued Motel Destino is a roadside sex hotel under the burning blue skies of the coast of Northern Brazil, run by the boorish Elias and his frustrated, beautiful wife Dayana. When 21 year-old Heraldo finds himself at the motel, after messing up a hit and going on the run from both the police and the gang he let down, Dayana finds herself intrigued and lets him stay. As the two navigate a dance of power, desire and liberation, a dangerous plan for freedom emerges. In this tropical noir, loyalties and desires intertwine, revealing that destiny has its own enigmatic design. The cast is spearheaded by Iago Xavier, Nataly Rocha and Fábio Assunção.

The other film in competition is for Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance [+see also:
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film profile], a US-UK-French co-production starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. The new film by the French helmer, whose acclaimed debut Revenge [+see also:
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interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] screened in Toronto, is being introduced with a unique synopsis: "Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You, only better in every way. You should try this new product, it’s called The Substance. It changed my life. With the Substance, you can generate another you: younger, more beautiful, more perfect." Described as a gory body horror film from a female point of view, the title has already been acquired by MUBI, which will release it theatrically this year in North America, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America and Benelux.

Finally, The Match Factory will rep the Un Certain Regard title September Says [+see also:
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interview: Ariane Labed
film profile] (France/Greece/Ireland/Germany/UK), the debut feature by Ariane Labed, the Coppa Volpi-winning actress of Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenberg [+see also:
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interview: Athina Rachel Tsangari
film profile] (2010). Based on the acclaimed novel by Daisy Johnson, the plot centres on sisters July and September, who are thick as thieves, though very different: September is protective and distrustful of others, whilst July is open to and curious about the world. Their dynamic is a concern to their single mum, Sheela, who is unsure what to do with them. When September is suspended from their school, July is left to fend for herself and begins to assert her own independence - which does not go unnoticed by September. Tension between the three women builds when they take refuge in an old holiday home in Ireland, where July finds her bond with September shifting in ways she cannot entirely understand or control, and a series of surreal encounters test the family to their limit. The cast is made up of Mia Tharia, Pascale Kann and Rakhee Thakrar.