Toronto 2010: Sony Pictures Classics buys ‘Incendies’
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After buying the Paul Giamatti dramedy ‘Barney’s Version’ before Toronto, Sony Pictures Classics has now picked up a film at the festival as well.
The specialty division has acquired U.S. rights to Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Incendies,’ a French-language family drama that spans North America and the Middle East. Adapted from a stage play by the Lebanese Montrealer Wajdi Mouawad, ‘Incendies’ tracks French-Canadian twins who, upon the death of their mother, learn they have siblings in the Middle East and proceed to track them down.
Villeneuve is the emerging Quebec filmmaker who won Genies for best director for ‘Maelstrom’ and his recent school-shooting drama ‘Polytechnique.’
The acquisition bolsters the foreign-language slate of SPC, which is a mainstay in that Oscar category. Entertainment One represented rights to the film, which also played in Telluride and Venice.
Toronto isn’t usually known for an abundant number of sales. This film marks the third to be sold at the festival, after ‘Super’ and ‘Dirty Girl.’ Well-received indies ‘Submarine’ and ‘The Trip’ are likely to close deals too, although the star-driven drama ‘Everything Must Go,’ with Will Ferrell, continues to seek a deal for U.S. rights.
— Steven Zeitchik
http://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT
