Sundance Selects Acquires Claire Denis’ Cannes Pic ‘Bastards’

NEW YORK, NY (August 22, 2013) – Sundance Selects announced today that the company is acquiring US rights to acclaimed filmmaker Claire Denis’ BASTARDS. The film, with a screenplay by Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau, stars Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni and Michel Subor, and was produced by Alcatraz Films and Wild Bunch. The film, which made its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, will make its U.S. premiere next month at the 2013 New York Film Festival, following a North American Premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Sundance Selects is planning to release the film October 25.

BASTARDS follows Marco Silvestri, a captain on a container-ship who is called urgently back to Paris by his desperate sister Sandra. Sandra’s husband has committed suicide, the family business has gone under, her daughter has gone adrift – and she holds powerful businessman Edouard Laporte responsible. Determined to exact a terrible revenge for the violence done to his family, Marco moves into the building where Laporte’s mistress Raphaelle lives; but he can’t avoid Sandra’s secret manipulations… or the fact that he is falling in love with Raphaelle.

Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said: “Claire Denis is a remarkable filmmaker who has once again created a powerful work of cinema. BASTARDS is a complex, thought-provoking addition to her already impressive body of work. We look forward to working with her again.”

The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films with Carole Baraton of Wild Bunch on behalf of the filmmakers.

Sundance Selects is a sister division to IFC Films and IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.