Cannes: Sundance Selects acquires “I, Daniel Blake” dramaMay 16, 2016 - 17:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Sundance Selects has acquired U.S. rights to in-competition Cannes drama “I, Daniel Blake”, Variety has exclusively learned. The movie, directed by Ken Loach, premiered to strong reviews. Several buyers circled the story about a carpenter (Dave Johns) trying to hold on to his British welfare benefits as he befriends a single mother with two children. The cast also includes Hayley Squires, Dylan McKiernan and Briana Shann. The script was written by Paul Laverty. “The quiet beauty of ‘I, Daniel Blake’ — the reason it’s the rare political drama that touches the soul — is that we believe, completely, in these people standing in front of us,” wrote Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman, calling it one of his favorite films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. “I, Daniel Blake” was produced by Rebecca O’Brien. Executive producers are Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat and Vincent Maraval. Sundance Selects is the sister label of IFC Films, which previously released Loach’s Palme D’Or winner “The Wind That Shakes the Barley.” The sale marks the fifth 2016 Cannes in-competition title from the AMC Network-owned companies—a list that includes The Dardennes Brothers’ “The Unknown Girl,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Graduation,” Olivier Assayas’ “Personal Shopper” and Nicole Garcia’s “From the Land of the Moon.” Arianna Bocco, the SVP of acquisitions and productions at Sundance Selects, negotiated the deal with Wild Bunch’s Carole Baraton. Wild Bunch is handling international sales. Related links: Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Mirzoyan says meeting with Bayramov was “constructive” At the moment, Ararat Mirzoyan said, there is no basis for additional comments. OSCE vows support for Armenia “in all three directions of security” Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. 151 detained as civil disobedience campaigns continue in Yerevan Citizens have been blocking streets in the Armenian capital, demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. France welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Almaty France has welcomed the new round of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. |