EUREKA by Lisandro Alonso is shooting
In Production November 2021
- THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE by Patric Chicha, producer: EAVE+ graduate Jean-Yves Roubin, co-producer: EAVE graduate Ebba Sinzinger is in production. A loose adaption by the director, Axelle Ropert and Jihane Chouaib, based on Henry James’ novella The Beast in the Jungle, the story charts a breath-taking huis clos: for 25 years, in an enormous nightclub, a man and a woman watch and wait for an unknown event. From 1979 to 2004, we follow the evolution of disco to techno music, the story of a love, the story of an obsession. Eventually, this "thing" manifests itself, but it takes a far more tragic form than expected … THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE is produced by Charlotte Vincent and Katia Khazak on behalf of Parisian firm Aurora Films in co-production with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Austria’s WILDart Film. The movie benefits from an advance on receipts from the CNC, as well as support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Film and Audiovisual Centre, Proximus, Be-TV, screen.brussels, the Austrian Film Institute and the SOFICA companies Cinémage and Cofinova. The six-week film shoot will unfold in Brussels and Venice and is scheduled to wrap mid-January.
- CHIEN DE LA CASSE by Jean-Baptiste Durand, producer: EAVE graduate Anaïs Bertrand is shooting. Written by Jean-Baptiste Durand in collaboration with Nicolas Fleureau and Emma Benestan, the story revolves around Dog and Mirales, two childhood friends who live in a small village in the South of France and spend most of their days lazing about. Mirales has developed a habit of teasing Dog, and unreasonably so, just in an attempt to pass the time. But this autumn, Dog reconnects with Elsa and subsequently embarks on a love affair with her. As Mirales slowly finds herself eaten away by jealousy, a distance establishes itself between the friends which allows them to grow and find their place in the world…Produced by on behalf of Insolence Productions, CHIEN DE LA CASSE enjoys support in the form of an advance on receipts from the CNC, in addition to backing from the Occitanie region and the SOFICA companies Indéfilms and Cinémage, having previously enjoyed upstream assistance from Emergence and Le Groupe Ouest. Filming will continue in the Hérault region until 10 December.
- EUREKA by Lisandro Alonso, producer: co-producer: EAVE graduate Jonas Dornbach is shooting. The film’s first part, entitled “Western,” will take place in a lawless township on the US-Mexico border in 1870. Part two of the film, “Pine Ridge,” will be set on a present-day Native American reservation in South Dakota, whilst “Amazonia,” the final part of four, follows Ubirajara, a member of a less-endangered indigenous settlement in the Amazon, who leaves to comb the local gold mines and is struck, literally, by “gold fever.” The third part of the film has not yet been announced in the initial reporting. Alonso wants “to compare the indigenous tribes in North America with those who live in the Amazon, escaping modernity with the hope of keeping their ancestral traditions alive. Though it begins in 1870, Eureka is really a present-tense affair, capturing the tragedy of modernity, a sense of disconnect with nature and an ancestral past in a world alienated by its pursuit of wealth. I’d like spectators, all of us, and above all South Americans, to think where and how we should live, [and] how we can live better.” Fiorella Moretti and Hédi Zardi, of France’s Luxbox, are the lead producers, with Germany’s Komplizen Film and Portugal’s Rosa Filmes serving as their fellow European co-producers. 4L and Pina Films produce for Argentina and Mexico, respectively.
New production alliance
Nine leading independent production outfits form "The Creatives"
Yesterday, nine leading independent production outfits from eight different countries formed a creative and development alliance called "The Creatives", designed to house a slate of high-end drama series and films and increase their collective power.
The new label has sealed a three-year partnership agreement with Fremantle, which will help to develop and fund high-end international drama series working in collaboration with Christian Vesper, President of Global Drama at Fremantle, and Fremantle's Global Drama Team.
The members of the alliance are France's Haut Et Court (Carole Scotta), the Netherlands' Lemming Film (EAVE and EAVE+ graduate Léontine Petit), Belgium's Versus Production (EAVE graduate Jacques-Henri Bronckart), Norway's Maipo Film (EAVE graduate Kristin Ulseth), Germany's Razor Film (EAVE graduate Verona Meier), Israel's Spiro, France's Unité (EAVE graduate Caroline Nataf), the UK's Good Chaos and US-based Masha.
In total, the nine firms are currently producing and developing over 100 films and series. All of them will be signed under the newly formed label.
In their joint statement, The Creatives revealed some details about their mission: "Nine companies, nine different identities, who want to keep their individuality and their cultures as well as that of the talent they work with. We cooperate, we exchange ideas, we develop, we produce, and we maintain our idiosyncrasies. In return, as a response to an exponential growth of the market, we offer writers and directors a home of a significant scale where they will benefit from a global approach. At the same time, they retain control of their stories and keep hold of rights, as much as possible. In this hugely competitive world, we all believe it is the only way to swim upstream and stay ahead of our competitors.”
Haut Et Court's co-founder Carole Scotta added: "We have pioneered this unique deal structure, with the valued support and backing of Fremantle. The Creatives will protect the independent development process that has been the backbone of storytelling in Europe for decades. We unite in order to stay as free and creatively interesting as possible, and supply films and series which audiences will respond to. We are committed to offering fair conditions to the talent we work with and to strengthen the long-term relationships with our writers, showrunners, and directors as well as with new talent."
EAVE is glad to announce the participation of Carole Scotta to EAVE+ 2022 as a guest expert.
Page published 30 November 2021.
