Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has released the trailer (below) for Swiss director Maxime Rappaz’s debut feature “Let Me Go,” which will open the Cannes Acid sidebar on Wednesday.
Set in a remote town in the Swiss mountains, the film features French actress Jeanne Balibar in the lead role. She plays the character of Claudine, a mother who has devoted her life to taking care of her son, sacrificing her own needs and desires. An unexpected love affair causes Claudine’s carefully controlled world to unravel, “reviving in her an intense thirst for freedom and, at the same time, a painful questioning about her future,” Rappaz says.
M-Appeal, who are celebrating their 15th birthday this year, are representing a Cannes Acid title for the second year in a row, following the success of “99 Moons” last year.
Maren Kroymann, managing director of M-Appeal, says: “Both films, although very different, center on female desire,...
Set in a remote town in the Swiss mountains, the film features French actress Jeanne Balibar in the lead role. She plays the character of Claudine, a mother who has devoted her life to taking care of her son, sacrificing her own needs and desires. An unexpected love affair causes Claudine’s carefully controlled world to unravel, “reviving in her an intense thirst for freedom and, at the same time, a painful questioning about her future,” Rappaz says.
M-Appeal, who are celebrating their 15th birthday this year, are representing a Cannes Acid title for the second year in a row, following the success of “99 Moons” last year.
Maren Kroymann, managing director of M-Appeal, says: “Both films, although very different, center on female desire,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has closed a deal for German distribution rights for “Let Me Go” with Alamode Film, ahead of the film’s world premiere as the opening film of Cannes Acid sidebar next week.
“Let Me Go” (Laissez-Moi), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, is set in a remote Swiss mountain village, where Claudine (Jeanne Balibar) lives a life dedicated to taking care of her son. Every Tuesday, however, she has an afternoon to herself and goes to a nearby hotel to meet men passing through. She pursues her desires in a carefully controlled way, so as not to interfere with her life, but when she meets Michael (Thomas Sarbacher) everything changes.
Rappaz worked with acclaimed DoP Benoît Dervaux (collaborator of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) to capture the Swiss mountain landscape in a timeless way. Echoing the circumstances of the film’s female lead, the mountain...
“Let Me Go” (Laissez-Moi), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, is set in a remote Swiss mountain village, where Claudine (Jeanne Balibar) lives a life dedicated to taking care of her son. Every Tuesday, however, she has an afternoon to herself and goes to a nearby hotel to meet men passing through. She pursues her desires in a carefully controlled way, so as not to interfere with her life, but when she meets Michael (Thomas Sarbacher) everything changes.
Rappaz worked with acclaimed DoP Benoît Dervaux (collaborator of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) to capture the Swiss mountain landscape in a timeless way. Echoing the circumstances of the film’s female lead, the mountain...
- 5/9/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin sales agency M-Appeal has come on board to handle world sales for “Let Me Go” (“Laissez-Moi”), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, which will world premiere as the opening film of the Cannes Acid sidebar.
Set in a Swiss mountain village, “Let Me Go” follows Claudine, a dedicated mother whose life revolves around her son. Every Tuesday, according to her careful schedule, she goes to a nearby mountain hotel to meet men who are passing through. When she meets Michael and he decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life.
French actress Jeanne Balibar stars in the lead role of Claudine, an elegant woman in her early 50s, who, although living a traditional life, pursues her desires in an unconventional way. She unexpectedly finds a romantic connection with Michael (Thomas Sarbacher).
A regular on the Croisette and...
Set in a Swiss mountain village, “Let Me Go” follows Claudine, a dedicated mother whose life revolves around her son. Every Tuesday, according to her careful schedule, she goes to a nearby mountain hotel to meet men who are passing through. When she meets Michael and he decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life.
French actress Jeanne Balibar stars in the lead role of Claudine, an elegant woman in her early 50s, who, although living a traditional life, pursues her desires in an unconventional way. She unexpectedly finds a romantic connection with Michael (Thomas Sarbacher).
A regular on the Croisette and...
- 4/26/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Egyptian filmmaker Sam Abbas made a splash when he released his queer-themed movie “The Wedding” in secret locations across the Middle East via his Egypt-based ArabQ shingle. The director is now starting a new company in Paris.
Abbas, who is Egypt-born and until recently lived in New York, drew some media attention in 2018 with “The Wedding,” which he wrote, directed and starred in as a young closeted Muslim man from Brooklyn who, while planning to marry his American girlfriend — played by Canada’s Nikohl Boosheri — is having affairs with other men.
“The Wedding” played in secret speakeasy-type venues by invitation only in Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt via ArabQ, Abbas claimed, which helped prompt some publicity when the film briefly screened in New York to unenthusiastic reviews. Variety’s Jay Weissberg called “The Wedding” “a dull slice of Lower Manhattan mumblecore.”
Still, the ArabQ initiative was bold since LGBTQ people...
Abbas, who is Egypt-born and until recently lived in New York, drew some media attention in 2018 with “The Wedding,” which he wrote, directed and starred in as a young closeted Muslim man from Brooklyn who, while planning to marry his American girlfriend — played by Canada’s Nikohl Boosheri — is having affairs with other men.
“The Wedding” played in secret speakeasy-type venues by invitation only in Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt via ArabQ, Abbas claimed, which helped prompt some publicity when the film briefly screened in New York to unenthusiastic reviews. Variety’s Jay Weissberg called “The Wedding” “a dull slice of Lower Manhattan mumblecore.”
Still, the ArabQ initiative was bold since LGBTQ people...
- 10/28/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Egyptian filmmaker Sam Abbas has teamed with leading cinematographers from around the world to create the documentary “Erēmīta (Anthologies).”
The anthology was shot during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown and will feature contributions from the following DPs: Alexis Zabé, Chayse Irvin Ashley Connor Soledad Rodríguez Stefano Falivene Antoine Héberlé Benoît Dervaux (“The Unknown Girl”) and Sam Abbas.
Leading the project, Abbas said, “I, like many others, get very excited about using certain cameras, lenses, conversations with the cinematographer, colorists, sound designers but really, everyone I work with! But when it comes down to it, if needed, cinema can be made under any circumstances. This is a circumstance where we can only make a film virtually if we want to collaborate. We all share two main things: passion and a plethora of time.”
Each cinematographer oversaw their project, having final cut for their individual piece. Abbas curated the entire project adding, “There is no theme,...
The anthology was shot during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown and will feature contributions from the following DPs: Alexis Zabé, Chayse Irvin Ashley Connor Soledad Rodríguez Stefano Falivene Antoine Héberlé Benoît Dervaux (“The Unknown Girl”) and Sam Abbas.
Leading the project, Abbas said, “I, like many others, get very excited about using certain cameras, lenses, conversations with the cinematographer, colorists, sound designers but really, everyone I work with! But when it comes down to it, if needed, cinema can be made under any circumstances. This is a circumstance where we can only make a film virtually if we want to collaborate. We all share two main things: passion and a plethora of time.”
Each cinematographer oversaw their project, having final cut for their individual piece. Abbas curated the entire project adding, “There is no theme,...
- 7/30/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
It may have taken nearly 25 years, but the typically admired Dardenne brothers have turned controversial and divisive–which, history tells us, is a common consequence of portraying radical Islam. How amply they’ve addressed the topic in Young Ahmed is not quite my territory–those seeking a discussion would be well-advised to read Soheil Rezayazdi’s Filmmaker interview–but in psychological portraiture it represents a revitalization from 2016’s narrative-dependent (albeit undervalued) The Unknown Girl. As played by Idir Ben Addi, Ahmed marks one of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s most fascinating creations.
I was fortunate enough to sit with the duo at last fall’s New York Film Festival and pore over Young Ahmed‘s particulars: its conforming and deviating from the Dardenne visual palette, its reliance on Muslim communities, and how to gauge whether or not an audience’s response is in fact correct.
Thanks to Nicholas Elliott, who provided on-site translation.
I was fortunate enough to sit with the duo at last fall’s New York Film Festival and pore over Young Ahmed‘s particulars: its conforming and deviating from the Dardenne visual palette, its reliance on Muslim communities, and how to gauge whether or not an audience’s response is in fact correct.
Thanks to Nicholas Elliott, who provided on-site translation.
- 2/21/2020
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
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