Marks the First Major Sale of a Competition Film at Cannes
Cannes, France – May 14, 2008 – IFC Films has acquired the U.S. rights to A CHRISTMAS TALE, directed by Arnaud Desplechin (KINGS & QUEEN) and written by Desplechin and his longtime collaborator Emmanuel Bourdieu. The highly anticipated film is screening in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and will premiere this Friday, May 16th. The film stars Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos and Chiara Mastroianni. It was produced by Pascal Caucheteux and his company Why Not Productions.
"There has been a lot of talk about the doom and gloom hanging over this year's market. However, we are feeling particularly bullish about our business, and we are thrilled to kick off our Cannes Film Festival with this announcement," said Jonathan Sehring, President, IFC Entertainment. "Arnaud Desplechin is one of the great filmmakers working today. It is no surprise that he has assembled some of France's finest actors including Catherine Deneuve into what we think will be one of his most memorable films.
The deal was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, IFC Entertainment's Vice President of Acquisitions and Production with Laurent Baudens of Wild Bunch on behalf of the producers.
A CHRISTMAS TALE follows Abel and Junon and their two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Victim of a rare genetic condition, Joseph's only hope was a bone marrow transplant. As they and Elizabeth were incompatible, his parents conceived a third child in the hope of saving their son. But little Henri too was unable to help his brother, and Joseph died at the age of seven. The Vuillard family has never recovered. Many years have passed, and family relationships are more strained than ever. In particular, those between Elizabeth, authoritarian head of the family and Henri, a cynical drop out who divides his time between women and drink. After a violent argument, Elizabeth banishes her feckless brother, cutting him off from his nephew, her son Paul – a tortured adolescent beset by serious mental problems. Later, the family is reunited over the Holidays after the disease has reappeared in the family
IFC has been a major presence at the Cannes Film Festival in recent years. The company has acquired back-to-back Palme d'Or winners, including Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days and Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley. IFC also acquired 10 films at last year's festival including Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, which won the Prize of the 60th Anniversary, California Dreamin', which won the Un Certain Regard top prize, as well as the upcoming Catherine Breillat's The Last Mistress. The company also released the three-time award-winner Me and You and Everyone We Know and the prize-winner Nobody Knows in recent years.
About IFC Entertainment
A multi-platform leader in the independent film industry, IFC Entertainment operates a group of companies devoted to bringing the best of specialty films to the largest possible audience. IFC Entertainment consists of IFC Films, IFC Productions and the IFC Center. IFC Films is a leading distribution company for independent film. IFC Entertainment's day and date film distribution model makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them in theaters through IFC Films and simultaneously on cable's On Demand platform and PPV through IFC In Theaters, reaching 50 million homes. IFC Productions is a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects. IFC Center is a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema with luxurious seating and HD digital and 35mm projection that shows art-house films in the heart of New York's Greenwich Village. IFC Entertainment's companies are subsidiaries of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.
Recent and upcoming IFC Films releases include: 2007 Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days , which also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film; Gus Van Sant's critically-acclaimed and award-winning Paranoid Park; Hou Hsiao Hsien's Flight of the Red Balloon starring Juliette Binoche; and Tom Kalin's Savage Grace starring Julianne Moore. Other acclaimed films include John Dahl's You Kill Me, Susanne Bier's Academy Award-nominated After the Wedding and Ken Loach's 2006 Palme d'Or winner, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through its IFC Entertainment division, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a theatrical feature film distribution company; IFC in Theaters, a day and date theatrical feature film/VOD initiative; the IFC Center in New York City; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Entertainment, which owns and operates a film library. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division, and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.