Sideshow & Janus Films Take North American Rights To Catherine Breillat’s Cannes Title ‘Last Summer’

Melanie Goodfellow
·2 min read

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired all North American rights for Catherine Breillat’s drama Last Summer (L’été dernier) following its well-received premiere in competition in the final days of the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27).

Breillat’s first feature in a decade, the drama continues the director’s career-long penchant for breaking taboos.

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Lea Drucker stars as a successful family lawyer specializing in child protection, living a seemingly perfect life with her husband and their two young daughters in a well-heeled Paris suburb.

She jeopardizes everything when she embarks on a forbidden affair with her dissolute 17-year-old stepson, played by (Samuel Kircher) in a move that will have explosive consequences for all involved.

Saïd Ben Saïd (Passages, Benedetta, Synonyms) lead produced the film under the banner of his Paris-based company SBS Production.

The film is adapted from Danish director May El-Thoukhy’s award-winning 2019 drama Queen Of Hearts, by Breillat in collaboration with Pascal Bonitzer.

Sideshow and Janus Films are planning a theatrical release following fall festivals.

The title is the second Cannes 2023 Palme d’Or acquisition for the distribution partners after Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses.

Their previous Cannes acquisitions have included Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning Drive My Car and Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO.

Sideshow and Janus Films said: “Catherine Breillat is one of the boldest and most thought-provoking directors on the subject of desire.  It’s exciting to have her back after 10 years with one of her best films.  We are looking forward to introducing her to an entire new generation of moviegoers.”

The deal was negotiated by Pyramide International on behalf of the filmmakers with Sideshow and Janus Films.

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