RAI Cinema International Distribution has acquired world rights to Belgian director Manon Coubia’s “Forest High” ahead of the Alps-set drama’s Berlin Film Festival launch.
The Belgian film’s pick-up marks the first non-Italian title acquired by the recently established sales arm of Italian state broadcaster RAI, which bowed at the European Film Market in Berlin last year.
In “Forest High,” a trio of women named Anne, Hélène and Suzanne take turns tending to a hut in the
northern Alps where hikers come and go through the seasons. The film’s three protagonists have chosen to withdraw from the world below because “each carries a secret, a wound, put to the test by this chosen solitude,” the synopsis says.
“Forest High,” which is Coubia’s debut feature, will premiere in Berlin’s Perspectives sidebar section dedicated to first works. Coubia previously got notice for her shorts, one of which scored the top prize in Locarno.
This film is a Belgian–French co-production, produced by Belgium’s the Blue Raincoat in co-production with France’s Aurora Films.
“We are very proud to support such a bold and distinctive debut by a talented filmmaker,” said RAI Cinema International Distribution sales chief Fulvio Firrito. “This project represents a further step forward for us, and we are grateful to the Belgian and French producers for entrusting us as their international distributor on such an original and profound project.”
Other new titles that RAI Cinema International Distribution will launch at the EFM include prominent Italian director Gabriele Muccino’s latest feature “Things We Don’t Say” and Greta Scarano’s “Siblings,” which recently won the European Young Audience Award at the European Film Awards.
Source: variety.com
