MPM Premium has closed sales in France, Belgium and the Middle East and North Africa for Lotfi Achour’s “Red Path,” screening in the Filmmakers of the Present competition at Locarno this August.
Nour Films will release “Red Path” in France, O’Brother in Belgium and ART in the MENA regions.
Founded in 2008 by Patrick Sibourd, Nour Films distributes independent films with a singular and engaged film vision, it says. Recent Nour distribution slate titles take in 2024 Sundance audience award winner “Girls Will Be Girls” and Berlin competition player “Gloria!”
Upcoming releases from O’Brother take in Michel Hazanavicius’ Cannes competition hit “The Most Precious of Treasures.”
“Red Path” is inspired by real events that unfolded in the Mghila Mountain in Tunisia in November 2015. There, a jihadist group attacked two young shepherds, forcing the one survivor to bring a morbid message back to his family. Struggling to cope with the traumatic situation, the boy’s perceptions of the world are shattered as he faces the powerlessness of his elders.
MPM Premium has also shared in exclusivity with Variety a teaser trailer for “Red Path” which frames the film’s setting, in the poorest part of Tunisia’s western mountains, its stark, ghastly turn of events and the surviving young shepherd’s final inspiring reaction.
“Red Path” is directed by Achour, who co-wrote its screenplay with Natacha de Pontcharra. It’s a co-production between Achour’s Tunis-based Artistes Producteurs Associés and France’s La Luna Productions, who produced together the multi-prized “The Bath,” Belgium’s Versus Production and Poland’s Shipsboy.
Achour is a Tunisian author, director and producer who has produced more than 25 theatrical plays, his latest a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company for the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has also directed three short films, including “La laine sur le dos,” which screened in competition at Cannes.
“‘Red Path’ is a deeply moving story based on real facts, in which the tragic events that unfold call out for our most sincere humanity and sympathy,” said Quentin Worthington, MPM Premium’s head of sales and acquisitions.
He added: “We believe in the power of cinema to be a tool for change without the need for superficialities. In ‘Red Path,’ the naturalistic mise-en-scène and the characters’ acting inspired in us the greatest emotions, and even some tears, with the effective result to advocate for peace and end any war. The film is a timely and wise wake-up call.”
The jihadist attack “was probably one of the most traumatic terrorist crimes for Tunisians and one that is truly inscribed in our collective memory,” added director Achour.
Focusing on powerful establish and emerging voices from across the world, finding success at its most prominent festivals MPM Premium’s current slate also features Directors’ Fortnight hit “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed,” an Argentinian film noir from Hernán Rosselli which has scored a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and took best picture last month at Mexico Ficunam fest.
Further current titles are ACID premiere “Fotogénico” from France’s Marcia Romano and Benoît Sabatier, described as a “riotous indie-punk dramedy”; and “Fine Young Men,” from Mexico’s Alejandro Pease, a queer coming-of-age drama which made its market premiere at Cannes.
