Paris-based Luxbox, whose films “The Heiresses” and “Museo” won three of the seven Silver Bears on offer at last year’s Berlinale, has acquired sales rights to three movies bowing later this year: Carlos Sironi’s “Sole,” Shahrbanoo Sadat’s “The Orphanage” and Melina Leon’s “Song Without a Name.”
Luxbox is also unveiling first images on Feb. 7 of Bruno Dumont’s “Joan of Arc,” above, about the French woman warrior’s trial, “an incredible modern portrait of a feminine heroine facing an institution ruled by men,” said Luxbox’s Fiorella Moretti and Hédi Zardi.
Afghan Sadat won the biggest prize at Cannes 2016 Director’s Fortnight for debut “Wolf & Sheep.” Her second feature, “The Orphanage,” is set in 1980s Kabul as it sinks into civil war and follows one orphan who dreams of being a Bollywood star but ends up stuck in the conflict. It’s produced by Adomeit Film and La Fabrica Nocturna.
The film “portrays an important time of transition in Afghan history in a playful way combining the reality of being an orphan and the extravagance of Bollywood,” said producer Katjia Adomeit,
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Shot in black and white, Leon’s debut feature, “Song Without a Name,” chronicles a real case of child trafficking in 1980s Peru in the story of a woman from the Andes whose newborn daughter gets stolen at a fake clinic.
The film proved a standout at December’s Ventana Sur market, a joint venture of the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Film Market and Argentina’s INCAA. La Vida Misma Films, MGC and La Mula produce.
“We wanted to return to 1980s Peru, a time of violence that shaped our childhood and left us feeling that there was no possible future for us if we stayed there,” said León.
Targeting sophisticated female audiences, “Sole” centers on a young pregnant Polish girl in Italy who aims to sell her baby to an older couple.
“Via a different perspective, I want to explore the complexity of parenthood,” Sironi said of “Sole,” produced by Kino Produzioni, Lava Films and RAI.
“Sole” was developed at the Cannes Festival’s Cinéfondation Residence Paris development program. Producer Giovanni Pompili called the film the result of an artistic journey, noted it had been put through five development initiatives: Berlinale Script Station, Eave, Cinéfondation Foundation, Torino Film Lab and Sundance Mediterranean Lab.