After a bumper Cannes 2021, which saw it representing no fewer than 14 titles across the official and parallel sections, German sales agent The Match Factory is plumping for a more manageable three this time around. This year’s Cannes Film Festival (17-28 May) also represents the firm’s first edition since being acquired by the fast-expanding streaming platform MUBI, giving it a visual rebrand and a new, red logo to boot.

Close [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Eden Dambrine
intervista: Lukas Dhont
intervista: Lukas Dhont
scheda film], the second feature by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont, is perhaps the seller’s most plum offering this year. It grants the rising director his first outing in competition, after his debut feature Girl [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lukas Dhont
scheda film] scooped so many accolades on its festival run in 2018, including the Cannes Caméra d’Or. The themes and aura of Close seem not too far removed from Girl: it explores the friendship between two 13-year-old boys, Leo and Remi, whose bond is disturbed as the prospect of adolescence looms. Trying to understand what happened, Leo seeks comfort by getting closer to Remi’s mother, Sophie, as the boys pursue forgiveness and reconciliation. Émilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker play the boys’ mothers, and will line up for a Lumière gala on the penultimate day of the competition screenings.

The Match Factory’s other two films showcase directors who’ve previously won acclaim at the Berlinale, and are now making their debuts at Cannes. Turkish filmmaker Emin Alper had A Tale of Three Sisters [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emin Alper
intervista: Emin Alper
scheda film] compete for the Golden Bear in 2019, following Frenzy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emin Alper
scheda film]’s Venice competition selection in 2015. Now, he comes to Un Certain Regard with the intense drama Burning Days [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emin Alper
scheda film], which follows the story of a young and dedicated prosecutor, who is newly appointed to a small town in Turkey hit by a water crisis and political scandals. After an initial welcome, he experiences an increasing number of tense interactions and is reluctantly dragged into local politics, forming a bond with the owner of the local newspaper that generates heated rumours. The film is also in competition for the Queer Palme, a noted parallel award. Alper has said he “wrote this story to convey the feeling of isolation, which haunts the contemporary individual more and more in an atmosphere of rising right-wing populism around the world”.

Finally, Vicky Krieps toplines her second film in Un Certain Regard with More Than Ever, the latest feature by German director Emily Atef, herself following up her 2017 Berlin-premiered 3 Days in Quiberon [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emily Atef
scheda film]. Described in advance reports as a “melodrama”, the film follows Hélène, a 33-year-old woman who lives in Bordeaux, France, and is in a happy relationship. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she finds out that she is suffering from a rare lung disease. Faced with an existential decision, Hélène travels alone to Norway to seek peace and find a new path. In the role of Hélène’s husband, Matthieu, the film features Gaspard Ulliel in his final role before his tragic passing in January this year.