Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired “Medusa,” a timely drama directed by rising Brazilian helmer Anita Rocha da Silveira. The film will world premiere at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
“Medusa” marks Da Silveira’s follow up to her critically acclaimed feature debut “Kill me Please” which premiered at Venice in 2015 and went on to play at SXSW and New Directors/New Films, among other festivals. Da Silveira was previously at Directors’ Fortnight with her 2012 short “The Living Dead.”
Set in contemporary Brazil, “Medusa” tells the story of 21-year old Mariana, who belongs to a world where women must always look perfect. She and her girlfriends try their best to control everything and everyone around them, and that includes beating up women who have deviated from the right path. At night, their vigilante girl squad put on masks and hunt down the sinners.
“Medusa” is headlined by newcomers, including Mari Oliveira (“Kill me Please”), Lara Tremouroux, Joana Medeiros, Felipe Frazão, and Bruna G, as well as telenovela stars Bruna Linzmeyer and Thiago Fragoso. The film is lensed by João Atala, the cinematographer of Oscar-nominated documentary ‘The Edge of Democracy” and “Kill Me Please.”
The daring movie reteams Da Silveira with her “Kill Me Please” producer, Vania Catani at Bananeira Filmes. MyMama Entertainment co-produced, along with Brisa Filmes, Telecine, Canal Brasil and Cajamanga.
“‘Medusa’ manages, with a subtle but not less striking underlying political message about today’s Brazil, to provide a drama that takes you to the guts, without ever giving up either on the entertainment or the aesthetic research,” said Martin Gondre and Charles Bin at Best Friend Forever. The pair said the film was “colorful and timely” and had a “strong feministic message.”
Best Friend Forever’s lineup at Cannes also includes Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s dark comedy “Bloody Oranges” which will open at Cannes in the Midnight Screening section of the Official Selection; and Pascal Tagnati’s “I Comete – A Corsican Summer,” winner of the Special Jury Award at Rotterdam and set to play in the ACID sidebar.
The company will take part of Cannes’s pre-screenings market with Ayten Amin’s Egyptian movie “Souad,” which played at the Berlinale and will screen at Tribeca, and Hadas Ben Aroya’s Israeli thought-provoking drama “All Eyes Off Me.”
Other movies on Best Friend Forever’s roster include Lenny and Harpo Guit’s “Mother Schmuckers” which premiered at Sundance.
Best Friend Forever launched in Cannes 2019 and is a sister company of Paris based Indie Sales.
optional screen reader
Read More About:
Source: Read Full Article
