Jean Labadie: Last News

The French distributor of Catherine Corsini’s Cannes 2023 Palme d’Or contender has lashed out at local media over its coverage of misconduct allegations linked to the film and also levelled criticism at the country’s National Cinema Centre (CNC).

One part of the Megalopolis distribution puzzle could be close to falling into place in France.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent In the run-up to its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola‘s 135-minute epic “Megalopolis” is on track to sell to a French distributor, Le Pacte. The indie company, presided over by veteran French distributor Jean Labadie, is currently negotiating a deal. It seems like an odd match for such a pricey movie considering Le Pacte’s fairly modest size.

Holly Jones Encapsulating humanity’s weighty history and paths toward healing, director Véra Belmont (“Red Kiss”) takes a leap from live-action cinema to animated feature with her latest project, “My Father’s Secrets,” a Holocaust story that tackles generational familial trauma and redemption.Based on the graphic novel “Second Generation” by Israeli illustrator Michel Kichka, the film is set for its market premiere at the Cannes Marché du Film, with the incentive for international markets of Elliott Gould leading the English voice cast.“My Father’s Secrets,” set in Belgium, introduces two young brothers, Michel and Charly, who struggle with their father Henri’s reclusive nature surrounding his time at Auschwitz. Their imaginations get the better of them as their father retreats inward on a personal journey to recoup his life after surviving the tragedies of internment.

Ben Croll In the wake of the Weinstein scandal and in an effort to quash the endemic issue of sexual harassment hardly limited to any one country, France’s Nation Film Board (CNC) launched a three-point plan that would require beneficiaries of financial support from the public film body to undergo sensitivity training sessions, to author detailed preventions protocols and to keep counselors on set.Though the plan authored in 2019 was targeted at senior level producers and executives – the heads of production outfits asking for public support, in short – the program has subsequently expanded to encompass a wider industry swath. In 2021, the film board tasked the Superior Technical Image Commission (CST) trade guild with running and organizing four separate sessions of differing lengths and focuses, aimed at the wider film production community.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentOscar-nominated Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“Madre,” “Riot Police”) is set to direct rural thriller “As Bestas,” backed by a powerful alliance of of European companies.Introduced to buyers at this week’s Cannes Marché du Film by its sales agent, Latido Films, “As Bestas” is produced by Jean Labadie’s Le Pacte in France, and in Spain Ibon Cormenzana’s Arcadia Motion Pictures and Caballo Films, Sorogoyen’s own label with Eduardo Villanueva.Adolfo Blanco’s A Contracorriente Films handles distribution in Spain, with Le Pacte handling the release in France. “As Bestas” rolls launches a shoot Galicia and León for nine weeks starting in September.  It will be ready for delivery in May 2022.