IFC Films has bought North American rights to Sebastien Marnier’s thriller “The Origin of Evil” starring “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy. The film world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and had its North American premiere at Toronto.
The suspense-filled ensemble film also stars Doria Tillier (“La belle époque”), Suzanne Clément (“Mommy”), Dominique Blanc (“Indochine”) and Jacques Weber (“En thérapie”).
Marnier’s follow up to “Faultless”and “School’s Out,” “The Origin of Evil” was produced by Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope with Avenue B Productions executive producing. IFC Films will release the film in 2023.
“The Origin of Evil” follows Stéphane (Calamy), a working class woman whose living situation takes a turn for the worse, prompting her to reconnect with her estranged father, Serge (Weber), who after abandoning her and her mother years earlier, has become incredibly wealthy with a massive estate. As Stéphane enters this new world, she slowly realizes that Serge may not be the genial patriarch she believed him to be. Stephane is also caught in a spat over inheritance which reveals secrets and betrayals.
“Led by an incredible talent in Sébastien Marnier and a first-rate cast, ‘The Origin of Evil’ is a twisty, subversive, and beautifully executed thriller,” said Arianna Bocco, president of IFC Films. “Marnier is the perfect addition to the IFC family, where we can’t wait to share his wild ingenuity with American audiences.”
Marnier, meanwhile, said he was “so grateful for the overwhelmingly positive response to ‘The Origin of Evil’ upon its world premiere.”
Speaking to Variety at Venice, Calamy said “The Origin of Evil” marked a departure for her as she had never been given such a dark role. She said Marnier “was interested in using the image of (her) candid character in ‘Call My Agent!,’ (…) and then pull her into profound and amoral waters.”
Calamy also described the film as “a social critique and a metaphor about the end of patriarchy,” using “the grammar of genre cinema, some suspense and even grotesque humor, to make it an entertaining watch.”
One of France’s most popular and versatile actors, Calamy won a Cesar Award for Caroline Vignal’s romantic comedy “My Donkey, My Lover and I” and won best actress at Venice for Eric Gravel’s social drama “A Plein Temps” which played in the Horizons section in 2021 and was one of the five films shortlisted to represent France in the upcoming Oscar race.
The deal for “The Origin of Evil” was negotiated by IFC Films’ head of acquisitions and production Scott Shooman with Charades on behalf of the filmmakers. Charades is handling international sales.
IFC Films’ current roster of prestige European films also include Marie Kreutzer’s bold period drama “Corsage” starring Vicky Krieps as the idolized Empress Elizabeth of Austria. The movie, which world premiered at Cannes and won Krieps an award, is representing Austria in the Oscar race. “Corsage” continued its festival run at Toronto and is now set to play at the New York Film Festival. The film opens exclusively in theaters on Dec. 23.
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