Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group (CMG) has scored sales to Italian distributor BIM Distribuzione, Portugal’s Cinemundo, Japan’s AT Entertainment and South Korean distributor Scene and Sound for Sergio Machado’s steamy romantic drama, “River of Desire” (“Orio do Desejo”), ahead of its Nov. 24 world premiere at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
Directed by Brazil’s Sergio Machado the drama is inspired by the novel “The Brothers” by Brazilian literary prize-winning author Wilton Hatoum. It competes in the official selection of Tallinn Black Nights where it will also play on subsequent days.
The Amazon-set drama follows three brothers whose harmony is disrupted when the middle brother, Dalberto, returns home with a lovely new wife, Anaíra. When Dalberto is forced to leave her behind while he ferries a mysterious passenger up the river, a lonely Anaíra seeks companionship from his brothers, triggering forbidden passions.
Machado, best known for his dramas “The Violin Teacher” and “Lower City,” describes “River of Desire” as “the story of a brother who kills, another who cheats, a woman who deceives and another brother who causes a tragedy out of envy. But the intention is to do so without judging any of them. The four characters are unable to go against whatever fate seems to have been planned for them.”
“The Amazon depicted in the film is not just an exuberant setting. The turbulence of the river and the placidity of the trees echo what the characters feel,” says Machado, adding: “Anaíra is raw energy, like the river that runs its course and uproots trees and everything that lies in its path,” he added.
“River of Desire” is produced by Tc Filmes and Brazilian powerhouse production company Gullane, producer of such classics as “Carandiru,” “The Second Mother” and “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation.” Globo Filmes and Mar Grande serve as associate producers.
Beverly Hills-based CMG, founded in 2003, acquires, distributes and licenses features, documentaries and animation. It is known for its extensive catalog in animation, among them Peruvian-Dutch animated feature “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon,” which has been a box office hit worldwide. Among its latest live action fiction pick-ups are “Hunt Club,” starring Mena Suvari and Mickey Rourke; “Wolf Mountain,” with Danny Trejo, Tobin Bell and Malu Trevejo and Amanda Raymon’s romcom “My Favorite Girlfriend.”