Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired pair of French movies, “The Strange Case of Jacky Caillou” and “Magdala,” which will world premiere in the Cannes sidebar, ACID.
“The Strange Case of Jacky Caillou” is the feature debut of Lucas Delangle, who previously worked with Claire Simon on “The Competition,” among other films. Set in a small village in the French Alps, the film follows a young man, Jacky Caillou, who lives with his loving grandmother Gisele, a magnetic healer.
Produced by Charles Philippe and Lucile Ric at Les films du Clan, the film stars newcomer Thomas Parigi and rising French talent Lou Lampros (“The French Dispatch,” “Peaceful”). Arizona Distribution will release the film in France later this year.
“Lucas Delangle is a new French voice to be discovered; he is already very mature and plays with cinema narration and genre,” said Martin Gondre and Charles Bin, Best Friend Forever co-founders. “His first film is a naturalistic take on a genre theme, that stands out as a most surprising, authentic and alluring movie,” the pair added.
“Magdala,” meanwhile, marks the fifth feature film by Damien Manivel. His latest film “Isadora’s Children” won the Leopard Award for best director at Locarno, and his 2017 film “The Night I Swam” played at Venice.
The film revolves around the biblical figure of Mary Magdalene who has withdrawn from the world since the death of Jesus. Her hair has turned white, she eats berries, drinks water from the rain and sleeps among the trees. Alone in the heart of the forest, she remembers her lost love.
“Magdala” stars American choreographer Elsa Wolliaston, alongside Aimie Lombard, Olga Mouak and Saphir Shraga. It is produced by Martin Bertier and Damien Manivel for MLD Films. Météore Films will release the film in France later this year.
“Damien Manivel is an incredible addition to the BFF slate, and we can’t be more happy to handle the beautiful ‘Magdala’, a new step in his career. It’s a masterful film, pure in its formal audacity,” said Gondre and Bin. They added that the film sheds a new light on “a timeless Biblical figure, with a breathtaking ending that will mark your mind.”
Best Friend Forever’s Cannes lineup also includes the animated feature “Perlimps” by Oscar-nominated director Alê Abreu. The banner launched in 2019 and is a sister company of Paris-based Indie Sales.