Heretic: Last News

Hugh Grant proclaims near the beginning of A24’s “Heretic” that there is only one true religion, and it isn’t Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. By the end, he does reveal his pick, though your mileage may vary.

Naman Ramachandran Athens-based sales and production outfit Heretic has sold key territories on the Cannes Film Festival‘s ACID sidebar opening film, Greece’s “Kyuka: Before Summer’s End.” Heretic has sealed distribution deals for France with The Dark, Benelux with Gusto Entertainment and Greece with Cinobo. Directed by feature debutant Kostis Charamountanis, who previously directed several acclaimed shorts, the film follows a family of three, a single father, Babis, and his twin children on the verge of adulthood, Konstantinos and Elsa, who sail to the island of Poros on the family boat for their holidays.

Naman Ramachandran Athens-based boutique film outfit Heretic has two titles in the Cannes ACID (Association for the International Distribution of Independent Cinemas) sidebar. Heretic’s own Greek production, co-produced with North Macedonia’s List Production, “Kyuka Before Summer’s End,” by debut director Kostas Charamountanis, is the opening film of the ACID program.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic has acquired world sales rights to “Sweet Dreams,” the sophomore feature from award-winning Bosnian Dutch director Ena Sendijarević (“Take Me Somewhere Nice”). Set on a remote Indonesian island during the waning days of the colonial era, the film centers on Dutch sugar plantation owner Jan and his wife, Agathe, who sit atop the local food chain — until the night when Jan, returning from a visit to his native concubine, Siti, suddenly drops dead in front of his wife. Desperate to hold onto her privileged lifestyle, Agathe forces her estranged son, Cornelis, and his pregnant wife, Josefien, to travel from Europe and take over the family business. Those plans are upended by a worker’s uprising, as Cornelis and his progressive ideals must confront the uncomfortable reality that his father’s will places Siti at the helm of the family estate, setting in motion a cat-and-mouse game that puts those ideals to the test.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on industry players outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week we’re talking to Heretic co-founder Giorgos Karnavas about the growth of his Athens-based production and sales house he started in 2013 with Konstantinos Kontovrakis. The company played a pivotal role in co-producing Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner and Oscar contender Triangle of Sadness, its first English-language production. 

EXCLUSIVE: Greek production and sales house Heretic has upped its long-time head of sales and acquisitions exec Ioanna Stais to partner.

Christopher Vourlias Athens-based Heretic has acquired worlds sales rights for “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World,” the latest film from Berlinale Golden Bear winner Radu Jude (“Bad Luck Banging or Looney Porn”), who is serving on the international jury at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Divided into two parts, Jadu’s latest follows an overworked and underpaid production assistant who must drive around the city of Bucharest to film the casting for a workplace safety video commissioned by a multinational company. In the film’s second half, one of her interviewees makes a statement that ignites a scandal, forcing him to re-invent his story to suit the company’s narrative.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Runner,” by director Marian Mathias, which will have its world premiere in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival.Already sparking upbeat word of mouth, “Runner” follows Haas (Hannah Schiller), an 18-year-old girl who was raised by her father in the rural Midwest. When her father suddenly dies, she must carry out his wish to be buried in the town where he was born.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Tengo sueños eléctricos” (“I Have Electric Dreams”), by director Valentina Maurel, which will have its premiere in the Locarno Film Festival’s international competition.Set in Costa Rica, the film follows Eva (Daniela Marin Navarro), a strong-willed 16-year-old girl who lives with her mother, her younger sister and their cat, but desperately wants to move in with her estranged father (Reinaldo Amien Guttierez). Clinging onto him as he goes through a second adolescence, she balances between the tenderness and sensitivity of teenage life and the ruthlessness of the adult world.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Convenience Store,” by director Michael Borodin, which will have its premiere in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand.Borodin’s feature debut follows an Uzbek immigrant working at a convenience store on the outskirts of Moscow. As with the rest of the immigrants at the store, she’s forced to work without pay and to endure mental and physical abuse, until the day she overcomes her fear and takes her fate into her own hands.Based on real-life events and the active legal cases of immigrants in Russia, “Convenience Store” captures the horrors of modern slavery in a visceral blend of realism, documentary-style filmmaking and grand-scale cinema.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Working Class Heroes,” by director Miloš Pušić, which will have its premiere in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand. Variety has also been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer.Starring award-winning Serbian actress Jasna Đuričić, who played the lead role in Jasmila Žbanić’s Oscar-nominated “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” “Working Class Heroes” follows a cold-hearted businesswoman working for a construction investor of dubious morals.

Christopher Vourlias Athens-based boutique production and sales outfit Heretic has boarded “Magnetic Fields,” the feature directorial debut of Yorgos Goussis, as executive producers. The film has its world premiere in the Film Forward section of the Thessaloniki Film Festival.“Magnetic Fields” follows solo traveler Elena, who after deciding to change course on a whim finds herself on a ferry.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Vera Dreams of the Sea,” the feature-length debut of Kosovan director Kaltrina Krasniqi, which will have its world premiere in the Horizons sidebar of the Venice Film Festival. Variety has also been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer.Set in modern Kosovo, “Vera Dreams of the Sea” centers on Vera, a sign-language interpreter for a local news station, who is confronted with an unwelcome and stark reality after the suicide of her husband, a newly retired and revered judge.

Emiliano De Pablos Sales agency Heretic has picked-up worldwide sales rights to “The Sacred Spirit,” Spaniard Chema García Ibarra’s feature debut, which world premieres in the International Competition at the Locarno Film Festival.Its teaser trailer is launching exclusively in Variety.García Ibarra’s awaited feature debut, “Sacred Spirit” blends local detail and dystopian surrealism, following José Manuel and the other members of a Spanish Ufology association -UFO-Levante- who meet weekly to exchange information about extra-terrestrial messages and alien abductions.Julio, their leader, dies unexpectedly, leaving José Manuel as the only person who knows about the cosmic secret that could change the future of humankind.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic, the Athens-based boutique production company and sales agent, has acquired world sales rights for “Feathers,” the feature-length debut of Egyptian writer-director Omar El Zohairy, which will have its premiere in Cannes Critics’ Week.“Feathers” explores a family’s transformation when a magic trick goes awry at a birthday party, and the magician turns the father into a chicken.

Christopher Vourlias Radu Jude’s “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” which won the Golden Bear for best film at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, has sold to major territories for Heretic Outreach, Variety has learned exclusively.The Romanian writer-director’s latest feature is an irreverent satire about a schoolteacher, Emi (Katia Pascariu), who finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded on the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, she refuses to surrender.

Christopher Vourlias Heretic Outreach has acquired world sales rights to “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” from acclaimed Romanian writer-director Radu Jude, which world premieres in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, Variety can reveal.Jude’s latest film is the story of a schoolteacher, Emi (Katia Pascariu), whose life is turned upside down after a sex video shot with her husband is leaked on the internet.

EXCLUSIVE: Human Factors, the German-Italian-Danish drama that was announced last night in Sundance’s 2021 World Cinema Dramatic Competition selection, has landed an international sales deal with Athens-based Heretic Outreach.