Cannes Critics’ Week Title ‘Vincent Must Die’ Acquired in English-Speaking Territories by Flawless, XYZ Films, Tea Shop (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough
·4 min read

Flawless, XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions have acquired the Cannes Critics’ Week selection “Vincent Must Die” for all English-speaking territories from Goodfellas.

Flawless, the pioneering film technology company and a leader in the field of visual translation, recently announced it has launched a partnership with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions to acquire rights to foreign-language films, converting them to English for distribution in relevant markets.

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Directed by Stéphan Castang, “Vincent Must Die” is written by Mathieu Naert, produced by Thierry Lounas and Claire Bonnefoy, and stars Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons. In the film, an ordinary man finds himself fighting for his life after he goes out one day and is mysteriously attacked by random strangers in the street with the intent to kill him.

This is the first film from the production company Wild West. Goodfellas and Capricci joined forces to create Wild West, a production company dedicated to the broadest possible range of genre cinema (fantasy, horror, science fiction, whodunit, thriller). Every year, feature films and series will be developed, drawing on both the creativity of young French artists, and the project laboratory of the SOFILM genre screenwriting residencies.

Flawless will implement its TrueSync technology to create perfectly lip-synced visual translations of acquired titles, while XYZ will leverage its distribution and sales resources to maximize each title’s theatrical, VOD, and OTT opportunities in English-speaking markets. The partnership unlocks the potential of foreign-language films that until now could not reach a mainstream audience due to immersion-breaking subtitles and out-of-sync dubs.

The partnership between Flawless, XYZ Films and Tea Shop launched with the acquisition of Victor Danell’s “UFO Sweden,” the sci-fi adventure that earned three nominations at the 2023 Guldbagge Awards, Sweden’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. The group intends to expand its initial slate with the acquisition of numerous high-potential titles throughout the Cannes Film Festival, where Flawless will also be demonstrating its groundbreaking technology. The company plans to release its initial slate of translated films in Q4 of 2023.

James Emanuel Shapiro, exec VP of U.S. distribution for XYZ Films, Ryan Black, head of acquisitions for Flawless, and James Harris of Tea Shop negotiated the deal with CAA Media Finance and Goodfellas on behalf of the filmmakers.

Black said: “Already nominated for the Golden Camera at Cannes, ‘Vincent Must Die’ is a fantastic film that deserves the widest audience possible. Alongside our recent acquisition of the acclaimed ‘UFO Sweden,’ today’s deal represents significant momentum towards making great films global.”

“ ‘Vincent Must Die’ is a unique premise executed with the sharp precision of a knife. It’s an honor to get to work on this great film,” said XYZ’s Shapiro.

The film was produced by Capricci, Bobi Lux, Frakas Productions and co-produced by Arte, Gapbusters, in association with Goodfellas. It was produced with the participation of Canal +, Ciné + and with the support of CNC – Avance sur recettes, Eurimages, Centre du cinéma et de l’audiovisuel de la fédération Wallonie Bruxelles; and also with the support of la Fondation Gan pour le cinéma, Cofinova 19, Région Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes, Région Pays-de-la-Loire, Procirep-Angoa. Goodfellas is in charge of all international sales.

XYZ’s current projects include Berlin competition title “Blackberry,” from director Matt Johnson, which stars Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel and is currently in release from IFC Films; “Ash,” starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul and to be directed by Flying Lotus; “The Guns of Christmas Past,” starring Liev Schreiber; “The Last Bachelor,” starring Seann William Scott; “Seven Veils,” starring Amanda Seyfried and directed by Atom Egoyan; Sundance selection “Run Rabbit Run,” directed by Dana Reid and starring Sarah Snook; and “Daniela Forever,” directed by Nacho Vigalondo and starring Henry Golding and Beatrice Gannò.

The XYZ slate also includes Nick Cassavetes’ “God Is a Bullet,” starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe, and Jamie Foxx; “Nocebo,” directed by Lorcan Finnegan with Eva Green and Mark Strong; and “Accused,” from BAFTA-nominated “Boiling Point” director Phillip Barantini.

XYZ is in post-production on the Netflix Original “Havoc,” directed by Gareth Evans and starring Tom Hardy and Forest Whitaker.

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