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Cannes competition title “Pacifiction,” from “Liberté” director Albert Serra, has been acquired for the U.S. by specialty distributors Grasshopper Film and Gratitude Films.

Serra won the Un Certain Regard section’s Special Jury Prize in 2019 for “Liberté” and cracked the festival’s official selection this year with “Pacifiction.”

The film is set on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, and centers on the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government official, whose role brings him to navigate both the high-end “establishment” and shady venues where he mingles with the locals. Lately, he’s had to contend with a rumor about the sighting of a submarine whose ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.

Grasshopper and Gratitude will release the movie in theaters in late 2022.

“Pacifiction” stars Benoît Magimel, Pahoa Mahagafanau, Cécile Guilbert, Matahi Pambrun and Sergi López. It was produced by Serra, Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Montse Triola,...

“The Girlfriend Experience” director Lodge Kerrigan’s 2004 movie “Keane,” starring Damian Lewis and Abigail Breslin, is getting a 4K restoration and a U.S. theatrical release.

Grasshopper Film snapped up distribution rights to the critically acclaimed pic, which is executive produced by Steven Soderbergh and produced by Andrew Fierberg. “Keane” — in 4K — will premiere in cinemas in early 2022, followed by releases on VOD, TV and home video. (The movie received a limited theatrical release in New York back in 2005.)

“Keane” turns on William Keane (Lewis) who is struggling to cope six months after his six-year-old daughter was abducted from New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal while traveling with him. Repeatedly drawn to the site of the abduction, Keane wanders the bus station, compulsively replaying the events of that fateful day as if hoping to change the outcome. When one day he meets a financially strapped woman, Lynn Bedik...

Pedro Costa is not the most obvious Oscar contender. The director of “Vitalina Varela,” a slow-burn atmospheric character study about an immigrant woman confronting her past, has never been keen on self-promotion. But now that “Vitalina Varela” is the Portuguese submission for Best International Feature Film, he has no choice.

“This is the part where I’m supposed to put a smile on,” the 62-year-old director said in a recent interview. He attempted a dry laugh that did not come naturally to him. “I would love for a different type of people to see this film. If they’ll watch it because of this Oscar thing, great.”

And they should. Costa has been making rich, ambitious documentary-fiction hybrids since the ‘90s, but they rarely get noticed much beyond the festival circuit. Nearly all of his films take place in the same rundown immigrant community of Fontainhas and surrounding areas, in Lisbon,...

‘Mama Weed’ starring Isabelle Huppert, is also opening in France.

France, opening Wednesday September 9

The French box office appeared to be on route to recovery in the first week of September thanks to the launch of Tenet and a wider range of titles on release generally. It now remains to be seen if this momentum can be sustained with further US studio releases remaining elusive and the country on high alert following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

French cinemas this week will mainly be reliant on local films to draw spectators.

This week’s biggest release is Jean-Paul Salomé’s...

Roy Andersson’s “About Endlessness” and Tsai Ming-liang’s “Days” are among the highlights of the Masters and Auteurs section of the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival. The festival will hold screenings in front of live audiences next month.

It had originally been scheduled to take place in March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The 44th edition will now run Aug. 18-31.

“Endlessness” earned Andersson the best director award at the Venice festival last year. While another selection, Pedro Costa’s “Vitalina Varela” earned the top prize at the Locarno festival last August.

Other films in the section include: “Balloon” by Pema Tseden; “Ema” by Pablo Larrain; “It Must Be Heaven,” by Elia Suleiman; “Marghe and Her Mother” by Mohsen Makhmalbaf; and “The Cordillera of Dreams” by Patricio Guzman.

The festival says that it expects to round out the section with other titles by Bruno Dumont,...

Grasshopper Film has acquired U.S. rights to Camilo Restrepo’s critically acclaimed feature debut, “Los Conductos,” which won the best first film award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

“Los Conductos” — represented in international markets by Brussels-based Best Friend Forever — was expected to have its North American premiere at New Directors/New Films but the festival was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis. The movie world-premiered as part of the Berlinale’s new competitive section Encounters.

Exploring the shattered psyche of a man on the run, “Los Conductos” is a Spanish-language film set in Medellin, Colombia, and loosely based on the true story of Pinky, who freed himself from the grip of a religious sect and gets a job in a T-shirt factory. Misled by his own faith, he tries to to get his life back on track, but is haunted by the violent memories of his past.

Chicago – Both the Music Box Theatre and the Gene Siskel Film Center have continued their at-home screenings, due to the physical theaters having to close during the pandemic quarantine. Below are the updates to their current offerings.

Music Box Theatre Presents Porno, Roar, Someone Somewhere, What She Said

Roar

Photo credit: MusicBoxTheatre.com

The Music Box Theatre will get a percentage of the proceeds from any screening. Click site link below for details.

Scheduled: Now until the theater re-opens.

Description: Porno involves group of seemingly wholesome young movie theatre employees are tempted and terrorized by a sex demon. And, when the five teen employees discover a mysterious old film hidden in its basement, they unleash an alluring succubus who gives them a sex education … written in blood.

Roar has emerged as a popular cult film. Released in 1981, it features Hank (Noel Marshall), who lives in a multi-wild-animal preserve (including lions and tigers) in Africa.

Chicago – While the days tick away during this shut-in period, both the Music Box Theatre and the Gene Siskel Film Center recently announced that they will offer online at-home screenings of current and past art films to enjoy.

Music Box Theatre Presents Bacurau

Bacurau

Photo credit: MusicBoxTheatre.com

The Music Box Theatre will get 50% of the proceeds from any download in this partnership with KinoMarquee, powered by Kinonow.

Scheduled: Now until the theater re-opens or changes the film.

Description: The winner of the Jury Prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, “Bacurau” is from Portugal, and is set in the title village in Brazil. They mourn the loss of their matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Sônia Braga) notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead.

There are forces that want to expel them from their homes,...