“Back to Burgundy” French drama comedy sells worldwide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Confirming the market appeal of France’s Cedric Klapisch after his “The Spanish Apartment” trilogy, his latest film, drama comedy “Back to Burgundy”, will have been sold significantly across the world by the end of the Berlin Festival.

More than 20 territories have already been secured, more will be closed in the next few days, Variety said.

“Back to Burgundy’s” powerful rollout comes as a promo of “Gauguin,” starring “Black Swan’s” Vincent Cassel, on which the Cohen Media Group has U.S. rights, was presented to buyers at Berlin. Directed by Edouard Deluc (“Welcome to Argentina”), and penned by Deluc, Etienne Comar,(“Django”), Tomas Lilti (“Irreplaceable”) and Sarah Kaminsky (“Raid: Special Unit”), “Gauguin’s” first major territory deals look set to go down in the next few days.

Written by Klapisch and regular co-scribe Santiago Amigorena and screened to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market, “Back to Burgundy” turns on long-gone brother Jean who returns home to France’s Burgundy as he and his siblings inherit their family vineyard. Saving it, they discover their roots.

Klapisch’s comedy drama stars three young French actors who have burst into the scene in the last decade to awards and significant roles: Pio Marmaï (“The First Day of the Rest of Your Life,” “Living on Love Alone”), Ana Girardot (“Next Time I’ll Aim for the Heart”) and François Civil (“Elles”).

Studiocanal itself will distribute “Back To Burgundy” in its home territories of France, Germany, U.K. and Australia/New Zealand, a practice on its key foreign-language titles.

Spain (Avalon), Benelux (Cineart) and the Middle East (Salim Rania) were licensed at Berlin.

Poland, Canada and Italy will close by the end of the Festival, said Anne Cherel, Studiocanal SVP, international film sales.

Produced by Bruno Levy for Klapisch’s Ce Qui Me Meut label, “Back to Burgundy” has also secured distribution in Japan with Kino Films, a frequent Studiocanal client, South Korean arthouse distributor-exhibitor T-cast, Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Singapore (Shaw) and Indonesia.

French films can be a hard sell in South East Asia. A “prestige mainstream title,” however, “Back to Burgundy” is “quintessentially French, about wine, family, and roots. It is what people love about France, and reveals the strong relationships between the vineyard workers and the wine itself,” said Cherel.

Pre-sales also took in Switzerland’s Frenetic, Spentzos in Greece, Portugal’s Lusomundo, Cinecolombia and Mexico’s Cinemas Nueva Era. Further buyers are the Czech Republic’s Cinemart, Acme for the Baltics, Lev in Israel and Brazil’s Esfera Filmes.

“‘Back to Burgundy” was bought by big distributors. It was perceived as a broad commercial French film also because Cedric Klapisch is well-known after the success of ‘Spanish Apartment,’ ‘Russian Dolls’ and ‘Chinese Puzzle,’” Cherel said.

Shot over the four seasons, “Back to Burgundy” is also a film about natural cycles, whether generational renewal in a family or those of a vineyard. To establish change throughout the year, Klapisch hired a photographer to take a picture of a tree every day at 3 pm for one year. How the three siblings change is the heart of the film.