Altered Innocence has picked up U.S. rights to Yann Gonzalez’s second feature film “Knife+Heart,” starring Vanessa Paradis.
The drama debuted in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival and makes its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest this week. Paradis portrays a ’70s gay porn producer whose productions are stalked by a masked killer.
Altered Innocence plans a theatrical release for early 2019. This marks the second Gonzalez film to be distributed by Altered Innocence following the Queer Palm winning short film “Islands.”
The deal was negotiated between Frank Jaffe from Altered Innocence, and Kinology CEO Grégoire Melin. Jaffe said, “Yann Gonzalez is without a doubt one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. I’m incredibly excited to continue to bring his unique, impassioned form of cinema to U.S. audiences. ‘Knife+Heart’ has the perfect blend of retro slasher sensibilities, queer romantic dynamics, and an incredible original soundtrack by M83 to really broaden U.S. appeal.”
Peter Debruge gave “Knife + Heart” a positive review for Variety at Cannes: “Picture ‘Cruising’ as directed by Brian De Palma, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this frisky parody-homage, which is equal parts kinky and kitsch, rendered with the kind of meticulous attention to lighting, composition, and sound (including a reunion with M83, who also scored Gonzalez’s first film) that all but guarantees a cult following.”