Funny Birds, an heartwarming comedy-drama starring Andrea Riseborough, Catherine Deneuve and Morgan Saylor, has sold in key territories in the run up to the AFM.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the movie is directed by Marco La Via and Hanna Ladoul. Newen Connect represents the film in international markets and will host a market screening for buyers at the AFM.
Exploring three generations of women and their last chance for reconciliation, Funny Birds has sold to Australia and New Zealand (Kismet Movies), Germany (Filmwelt), Middle East (Grand Entertainment), Spain (Selecta Vision), Austria (Filmladen), Bulgaria (Beta Film), Switzerland (Path Films) and Ukraine (Svoe Kino), along with global airlines (Ricochet). In France, Funny Birds will be released by UGC Distribution and TF1 Studio.
Funny Birds follows Charlie (Saylor) who returns from boarding school to the New Jersey countryside to take care of her estranged mother Laura (Riseborough) who runs a small chicken farm. Their tense day-to-day life on the farm is turned upside down when Lauras mother Solange (Deneuve), an eccentric French feminist, shows up unannounced. When a bird flu epidemic starts threatening the farm, they are forced to rise above conflict and heal old wounds.
With a stellar cast that includes French cinema royalty and the industrys most exciting female talents, Funny Birds tackles with understated charm the importance of family and relationships, said Alice Damiani, SVP international film sales at Newen Connect. The executive pointed the pedigree of those in front of the camera is matched by those behind it.
They have masterfully succeeded in putting together a project that is both spellbinding and uplifting and which has already garnered a great deal of interest amongst film buyers, Damiani continued.
La Via and Ladoul previously directed Anywhere With You which opened at Cannes in the ACID section and went on to play at a bunch of international festivals.
Funny Birds is produced by Julien Madon (Through the Fire, Dalida), Aime Buidine (Brothers by Blood), Melita Toscan Du Plantier (In The Fade) and Raphal Gindre (Anywhere With You), with Scorsese exec producing and TF1 Studio co-producing.