Cannes: Sideshow, Janus Films Take Dardennes’ ‘Tori and Lokita’ for North America

Sideshow and Janus Films have picked up North American rights to Tori and Lokita, the new social drama from acclaimed Belgium directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (The Son, Two Days, One Night). Sideshow and Janus are planning a theatrical release for the title.

Tori and Lokita premiered in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival this month where it won a special prize in honor of Cannes’ 75th anniversary.

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The film follows Tori (Pablo Schils) and Lokita (Joely Mbundu), two underage refugees who have traveled alone from Africa to Europe and are trying to find their way in Belgium.

Sideshow and Janus Films called Tori and Lokita “an immediate classic [that] shows these master filmmakers working at their highest level, focused with a newfound intensity on the issues plaguing our time.”

The deal was negotiated by sales group Wild Bunch International and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers with Janus Films and Sideshow.

Janus and Sideshow recently teamed up on the release of Drive My Car, a 2021 Cannes winner that became a sleeper hit and awards champion, picking up four Oscar nominations and one win for best international feature.

Sideshow recently picked up Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO, a drama about the existential struggles of a donkey, which won Cannes’ Grand Jury prize, and which Sideshow will bow in theaters domestically this Fall. Also on the company’s slate is Shaunak Sen’s Sundance-winning documentary All That Breathes.

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