As the European Film Market kicks off Feb. 13 in Berlin with a new market head, Tanja Meissner, at the helm, this year’s buzziest titles suggest the industry will be looking toward tried-and-true genre fare and splashy, star-driven packages to thaw the winter chill.
Bankable stars are expected to heat things up in Berlin, with Ari Aster and A24’s “Eddington” (Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler), Guy Ritchie’s “Wife & Dog” (Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike), Ernest Dickerson’s untitled hitman thriller (Samuel L. Jackson, Daveed Diggs) and Kantemir Balagov’s “Butterfly Jam” (Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough) showcasing how marquee names remain a safe bet as uncertainty continues to reign in the theatrical market.
On the genre side of things, horror is still expected to scare up sales, with buyers looking to sink their fangs into Isabelle Huppert‘s 16th-century vampire mystery “The Blood Countess” and Jacob Chase’s killer canine genre-bender “Bad Boy,” starring Ke Huy Quan and Lili Reinhart. Meanwhile, comedy could be making a comeback, thanks to hot packages including Neon’s “Old Pals” (Henry Winkler, Brian Cox), the unhinged road-trip comedy “The Shitheads” (Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Peter Dinklage) and the psychedelic stoner comedy “Toad,” from “Detroit Rock City” director Adam Rifkin, starring Tiffany Haddish, James Franco, James Paxton and Oliver Wyman.
After a sleepy Sundance Film Festival gave way to a flurry of sales in Park City — including Neon’s $17 million payout for the wild body horror romp “Together” (pictured), starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco — will this year’s EFM see a return to the spending sprees of markets past? Here are some of the hottest pics on offer at the European Film Market and Berlin Film Festival:
500 Miles
Director: Morgan Matthews
Producers: David Thompson, Alex Gordon, Keren Misgav Ristvedt, Martina Niland
Key cast: Roman Griffin Davis, Bill Nighy, Maisie Williams
A warm-hearted adventure-comedy that centers on two young brothers who embark on a 500-mile journey across Ireland to reach their estranged grandfather.
Sales: Beta Cinema
A New Dawn
Director: Yoshitoshi Shinomiya
Producers: Asmik Ace, Miyu Productions
The feature debut of Shinomiya — the anime artist behind Japan’s box-office sensation “Your Name” — takes place inside a derelict fireworks factory, where a young man chases the illusion of a father who vanished years before.
Sales: Charades
Bad Boy
Director: Jacob Chase
Producers: C2 Motion Picture Group, Divide/Conquer
Key cast: Ke Huy Quan, Lili Reinhart
Based off a Black List-topping script, this genre-bending horror film charts a young woman’s fight to escape a deadly serial killer…told from the POV of the killer’s faithful dog.
Sales: Black Bear
The Birthday Party
Director: Miguel Angel Jimenez
Key cast: Willem Dafoe, Emma Suarez, Joe Cole, Vic Carmen Sonne
Set in the late 1970s somewhere in the Mediterranean, the film follows the familial drama that unfolds when an Onassis-like tycoon throws a lavish, extravagant birthday party for his daughter and sole heiress on his exclusive private island.
Sales: Bankside
Willem Dafoe and Vic Carmen Sonne star in “The Birthday Party.”
Courtesy of Emma Braun @ Heretic
The Blood Countess
Director: Ulrike Ottinger
Producers: Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Bady Minck, Bettina Brokemper
Key cast: Isabelle Huppert, Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Thomas Schubert
This vampire mystery movie from the renowned German New Wave artist Ottinger stars Huppert as Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th-century Hungarian serial killer. From a script co-written by Nobel Prize-winning author Elfriede Jelinek (“The Piano Teacher”).
Sales: Magnify
Blurred
Director: Ben Cookson
Producers: Alex Pettyfer, James Ireland, Yariv Lerner
Key cast: Alex Pettyfer, Guy Pearce, Maria Pedraza, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Plot details are being kept under wraps for this erotic thriller set in the New York fashion world.
Sales: Cloud9 Studios
Breathe Deep
Director: James Kermack
Producers: Julien Loeffler, James Kermack
Key cast: Ingrid Torelli, Michiel Huisman, Avani Gregg
Thirteen years after witnessing her father’s death by a shark in the Devil’s Triangle, an exploration influencer returns to the fateful site, only to face a deadly battle against a great white shark.
Sales: Cornerstone
The Butler
Director: Tom Edmunds
Producers: Christopher Tuffin, Kevin DeWalt, Ari Novak, Kevin Townsend
Key cast: Jean Reno
Reno stars as a retired World War I commando who’s traded a life of violence for the serene routine of a family butler, only to be forced to confront his past when the mob arrives to collect an unpaid debt.
Sales: K5 Intl.
Butterfly Jam
Director: Kantemir Balagov
Producers: Alexander Rodnyansky, Pascal Caucheteux
Key cast: Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough
The English-language debut from the acclaimed director of the Cannes prizewinner “Beanpole” follows a tight-knit U.S. community of Circassian immigrants and a complicated relationship between a father and son.
Sales: Goodfellas (international); CAA Media Finance, UTA Independent Film Group (U.S.)
Couture
Director: Alice Winocour
Producers: Angelina Jolie, Charles Gillibert, Zhang Xin, William Horberg
Key cast: Angelina Jolie, Anyier Anei, Ella Rumpf, Louis Garrel
Originally titled “Stitches,” this fashion drama follows three women whose paths cross in Paris during the frenzy of Fashion Week, where they grapple with the world’s tragedies and the questions of their lives.
Sales: UTA Independent Film Group, HanWay Films (international); UTA Independent Film Group (U.S.)
Die By Night
Director: Rod Blackhurst
Producers: Noah Lang, Ben Shields Catlin
Key cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Ben Hardy, Scoot McNairy
A propulsive thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world that follows a band of survivors trying to survive nightfall and make it to safety.
Sales: Protagonist Pictures (international); UTA Independent Film Group (U.S.)
Eddington
Director: Ari Aster
Producers: Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen
Key cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler
Details are scarce on the latest Aster and A24 collaboration, which is believed to revolve around a small-town sheriff in New Mexico with big dreams.
Sales: A24
A star-studded cast headlines Ari Aster and A24’s “Eddington.”
Getty
Good Sex
Director: Lena Dunham
Producers: Natalie Portman, Sophie Mas, Lena Dunham, Michael Cohen
Key cast: Natalie Portman
“Girls” creator Dunham writes and directs this portrait of a successful and newly single couples’ therapist who finds herself back in the New York dating scene, where she’s torn between two romantic partners.
Sales: CAA Media Finance, FilmNation Entertainment
Jimpa
Director: Sophie Hyde
Producers: Liam Heyen, Sophie Hyde, Bryan Mason, Marleen Slot
Key cast: Olivia Colman, John Lithgow
Coming off a buzzy Park City premiere, the latest from “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” director Hyde is a multi-generational family tale involving a woman and her nonbinary teenager who take a trip to see the teen’s gay grandfather.
Sales: Protagonist Pictures (international); CAA Media Finance (U.S.)
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Director: Bill Condon
Producers: Artists Equity, Mohari Media
Key cast: Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, Tonatiuh
The highest-profile title to come out of Sundance is a Broadway adaptation from the Oscar-winning director of “Chicago” and “Dreamgirls” that offers a fresh take on the ’80s classic — which itself spawned a Kander and Ebb musical — and revolves around two political prisoners in 1980s Argentina who bond behind bars.
Sales: AGC Intl. (international); WME and CAA Media Finance (U.S.)
Lassie and the Wild Bear
Director: Hanno Olderdissen
Producer: Henning Ferber
Key cast: Niko Marischka
The latest installment in the hit family franchise sees Lassie and her best friend Flo returning for more adventures.
Sales: Epsilon
The Last Viking
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Producers: Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Sidsel Hybschmann
Key cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Sofie Gråbøl
This dark comedy follows a man who’s looking to reclaim the hidden loot that landed him behind bars for 15 years after a daring robbery — only to discover that the brother who buried the money is suffering from a mental disorder that’s wiped his memory clean.
Sales: TrustNordisk
Mata
Director: Rachel Lang
Producers: Chevaldeuxtrois, Nolita Cinema, Wrong Men, Marvelous
Key cast: Eye Haïdara, Mélanie Laurent
A high voltage spy thriller from the director of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight player “Our Men,” the film follows a French secret agent who’s haunted by the memory of a colleague who was captured while on a clandestine operation in Niger.
Sales: Indie Sales (international except France)
The Musician and the Whale
Director: Valentin Paoli
Producer: Valdés
From the producers of “Ailo’s Journey” comes a cinematic documentary that follows renowned electro musician Rone as he embarks on a journey to meet a whale and create music for it.
Sales: Pulsar Content
Old Pals
Director: Wendey Stanzler
Producers: Corporate Witchcraft, Inner Child Productions
Key cast: Henry Winkler, Brian Cox, Emma Roberts, Evan Rachel Wood
This odd-couple comedy follows two stubborn old men who are forced into an unlikely friendship by their scheming daughters to help them cope with widowhood.
Sales: Neon (international); CAA Media Finance, Verve Ventures (U.S.)
Old White Man
Director: Simon Verhoeven
Producers: Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann, Kirstin Winkler
Key cast: Jan Josef Liefers, Nadia Uhl, Elyas M’Barek
A box-office hit in Germany, this satirical dramedy follows a middle-aged family man on the verge of losing his job who sets out to host a dinner party to prove he’s modern and “woke” — only for chaos to ensue.
Sales: Picture Tree Intl.
Paradise
Director: Jeremy Comte
Producers: Tim Ringuette, Anne-Marie Gelinas, Fabien Westerhoff
Key cast: Daniel Atsu Hukporti, Joey Boivin-Desmeules
The feature debut from the Oscar-nominated Comte follows a young Ghanaian who’s drawn into a world of street gangs and deception in the wake of his father’s disappearance at sea. Meanwhile, in Quebec, a man discovers his mother’s relationship with a sailor, who may hold the key to finding his father.
Sales: Film Constellation
The Rage
Director: Paul Greengrass
Producer: Jason Blum, Paul Greengrass, Joana Kaye
Key cast: Matthew McConaughey
McConaughey stars as a farmer who becomes the leader of the Peasants’ Revolt, a major uprising that took part across large parts of England in 1381.
Sales: FilmNation (international); CAA Media Finance, WME Independent (U.S.)
Reversion
Director: Jacob Santana
Producers: Forgotten 1 Entertainment, Arde Producciones
Key cast: Jaime Lorente, Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Manu Vega
A man, Mario (played by “Money Heist” star Lorente), searches for the truth after his brother — the victim of a kidnapping — returns with no memories of what happened to him. But what Mario discovers will make him doubt his own sanity as well.
Sales: Film Factory
Romería
Director: Carla Simón
Producer: María Zamora
The third feature from the Berlin Golden Bear-winning director (“Alcarràs”) is part of a trilogy exploring family and sees Simón draw from her own life, this time exploring a pivotal moment from her late adolescence.
Sales: MK2 Films
Rose of Nevada
Director: Mark Jenkin
Producer: Denzil Monk
Key cast: George MacKay, Callum Turner
BAFTA nominees MacKay and Turner star in this time travel mystery-drama that’s set in a forgotten fishing village, where two men join the crew of a mysterious shipping vessel that was lost at sea 30 years before.
Sales: Protagonist Pictures
The Shitheads
Director: Macon Blair
Producers: Brandon James, Alex Orr, Macon Blair, Dave Franco, Nathan Klingher, Ford Corbett, Jeremy Saulnier
Key cast: Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Peter Dinklage
What starts as a simple road trip becomes an unhinged odyssey of drug-fueled disasters, near-death experiences and criminal encounters in this raucous comedy.
Sales: WME Independent (international); WME Independent, CAA Media Finance (U.S.)
Sleeping Lions
Director: Mat Whitecross
Producers: Rupert Lloyd, Cyrus Massoudi, Fiona Neilson
Key cast: Jonathan Price, Nick Mohammed
This comedy murder-mystery follows the intrigues after a snowstorm traps guests at the secluded estate where they’ve gathered to celebrate Christmas with a dying earl.
Sales: Mister Smith Entertainment
This Is Not a Test
Director: Adam MacDonald
Producers: Anova Pictures, North Avenue Pictures, WorldOne Entertainment
Key cast: Olivia Holt, Froy Gutierrez, Luke MacFarlane
Billed as “The Breakfast Club meets “28 Weeks Later,” this film — based on the YA novel by New York Times bestselling author Courtney Summers — follows a group of students who take cover in their high school to escape a world plagued by the infected, until finally taking matters into her own hands.
Sales: Blue Fox Entertainment
Three Quick Breaths
Director: Brendan Muldowney
Producers: Paul Kennedy, Richard Bolger, Patrick O’Neill
Key cast: Danny Dyer
A fast-paced sports thriller about an old-school agent who desperately needs to get his star player one last big payday before his life, and his client’s reputation, comes tumbling down.
Sales: Sunrise Films (international except U.K., Ireland)
Tinsel Town
Director: Chris Foggin
Producers: Matt Williams, Pascal Degove
Key cast: Keifer Sutherland, Rebel Wilson
This Christmas comedy stars Sutherland as a Hollywood action hero with a bloated ego whose career suddenly goes into freefall, only for him to get an unexpected second chance after traveling to England to rehabilitate his image.
Sales: Mister Smith Entertainment
Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson star in the Christmas comedy “Tinsel Town.”
Zak Cassar, Supplied
Toad
Director: Adam Rifkin
Producers: Brad Wyman, Michael P.J. Gerstein, Mike Kolko
Key cast: Tiffany Haddish, James Franco, James Paxton, Oliver Wyman
A psychedelic stoner comedy from the “Detroit Rock City” director follows two unwitting drug mules who accidentally trip on “acid toads” en route to Las Vegas.
Sales: Architect
Together
Director: Michael Shanks
Producers: Picturestart, Tango, 1.21, Princess Pictures
Key cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman
This buzzy Sundance horror film, which sparked a bidding war after its Park City premiere, follows a couple whose move to the countryside triggers a supernatural incident that drastically alters their relationship, existence and physical form.
Sales: Neon
Trust the Man
Director: Will Graham
Producers: Invitation Media, Los Angeles Media Fund
Key cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Lucas Hedges
This Vietnam War-set drama follows an ambitious Army Intelligence officer assigned to investigate a decorated soldier with a mysterious past, with both men eventually discovering a dangerous and uncontrollable connection.
Sales: Neon (international); UTA Independent Film Group (U.S.)
Untitled Hitman Thriller
Director: Ernest Dickerson
Producer: Vincent Newman
Key cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Daveed Diggs
Jackson plays a recently retired hitman who gets called back into action for one last job after his nephew is accused of stealing from the mob.
Sales: WME Independent (international); Fifth Season, CAA Media Finance, Contentious Media (U.S.)
Untitled Mike Leigh
Director: Mike Leigh
Producer: Georgina Lowe
Cast and plot details about the veteran British writer-director’s latest project are being kept under wraps, but Leigh has confirmed that he’s shooting another drama that will reunite him with collaborators Cornerstone, Bleecker Street (which will release the film in the U.S.), Studiocanal (which has U.K. rights) and Film4.
Sales: Cornerstone
Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day
Director: Tina Gharavi
Producers: Justine Wadell, Christopher Figg, Meg Thomson, Phillipp Steffens, Julie Link
Key cast: Haley Bennett, Elyas M’Barek, Timothy Spall, Lily Allen, Jack Whitehall, Jennifer Saunders
Based on the author’s acclaimed novel, “Night & Day” is billed as an un-romantic comedy about a passionate astronomer who does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage.
Sales: WestEnd Films
Where the Wind Comes From
Director: Amel Gellaty
Producers: Asma Chiboub, Karim Aïtouna
Key cast: Eya Bellagha, Slim Baccar
Arriving at EFM fresh off its premiere in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic competition, this debut follows two friends who set off on a fantastical journey across Tunisia that will put their friendship to the test.
Sales: Films Boutique
Wife & Dog
Director: Guy Ritchie
Producers: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, John Friedberg
Key cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike, Anthony Hopkins, James Norton
Plot details remain scarce, but word is that Ritchie’s latest — featuring a star-studded cast — will return to the colorful, back-stabbing world of British aristocracy that he explored in films like “The Gentlemen.”
Sales: Black Bear
Wild Game
Director: Jason Hall
Producers: Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh Jones, Jason Hall, Steve Richards
Key cast: Miles Teller, Casey Affleck
This manhunt thriller from Oscar-nominated “American Sniper” writer Hall follows a deadly encounter between a government officer and a renegade that turns into a relentless quest for justice.
Sales: Capstone (international); CAA Media Finance, Range Select, UTA Independent Film Group (U.S.)
