13 may 2026 mk2 films Scales Global Strategy for Auteur Classics With New Acquisitions

With new deals spanning Michael Haneke, Ang Lee, Xavier Dolan and Céline Sciamma, the Paris-based company is accelerating its strategy to turn restored auteur classics into global theatrical events.

mk2 films is accelerating its push to reposition auteur classics as global theatrical events, unveiling a new slate of acquisitions spanning Michael Haneke, Ang Lee and Xavier Dolan as part of a broader strategy to activate its 1,000-title library.

The Paris-based company continues to cement its position as a key international hub for auteur cinema, while maintaining a strong presence at Cannes with five titles in Competition.

Among the headline deals, mk2 films has secured worldwide rights to Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (2007), the director’s English-language remake starring Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet, with cinematography by Darius Khondji. The acquisition, concluded with Chris Coen Films Ltd., strengthens a Haneke slate that already includes Code Unknown and The Piano Teacher, the Cannes triple-winner marking its 25th anniversary this year.

mk2 films has also acquired worldwide rights to newly restored versions of Ang Lee’s first three features, Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman, in a deal with the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, where the films were originally restored by CMPC. Often referred to as the “Father Knows Best” trilogy, the films laid the foundation for Lee’s international career and are now being repositioned for global theatrical circulation. The Wedding Banquet won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, while Eat Drink Man Woman premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

mk2 films is also deepening its long-standing relationship with Xavier Dolan, acquiring worldwide rights to I Killed My Mother and Heartbeats from Nancy Grant, after previously holding French rights to Heartbeats. The films join Laurence Anyways and Tom at the Farm, as well as French rights to Mommy and It’s Only the End of the World. The relationship dates back to Heartbeats, which mk2 films distributed in France before producing several of Dolan’s subsequent features.

On the U.S. indie front, mk2 films is reactivating Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, a Sundance breakout and defining work of early-2000s independent cinema, through a director-approved new 4K restoration which premiered at Sundance Classics this year. Additional 4K-restored titles include Lisa Cholodenko’s High Art and Martha Coolidge’s Not a Pretty Picture, further expanding the catalogue with landmark works by key voices in American independent and female filmmaking. In parallel, mk2 films is rolling out a new 4K restoration of Ari Folman’s milestone animated documentary Waltz with Bashir, which has recently joined the company’s collection.

“These acquisitions are part of a long-term editorial strategy,” said Frédérique Rouault, Head of Collections at mk2 films. “We are building coherent, curated bodies of work, strengthening relationships with filmmakers and rights holders, and giving distributors access to collections supported by new marketing assets and the tools to turn them into events.”

These additions follow the recent acquisition of worldwide rights to Céline Sciamma’s early films Naissance des Pieuvres, Tomboy and Girlhood, completing a collection that already includes Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Petite Maman. The mk2 films Sciamma collection also includes her recent short film This Is How a Child Becomes a Poet. A major Centre Pompidou retrospective, “Céline Sciamma, action poétique,” taking place from June 3 to 16, 2026 at mk2 Bibliothèque x Centre Pompidou in Paris, will anchor the rollout, underscoring mk2 films’ strategy of pairing catalogue acquisitions with high-profile cultural moments.

The company is also deepening its partnership with Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, further reinforcing its role in the international circulation of restored world cinema. Depending on titles, mk2 films represents worldwide rights, excluding North America, to a prestigious selection of features restored through the Foundation’s World Cinema Project, which is dedicated to preserving and revitalising landmark films from across the globe. Ten new films have recently joined the deal, including Sergei Parajanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Idrissa Ouédraogo’s Yam Daabo and Dariush Mehrjui’s The Postman, all restored in 4K.

For CEO Nathanaël Karmitz, the shift is structural: “Films are not dormant assets. They are living works — films to be restored, recontextualised and brought back into circulation for audiences, festivals, distributors and cultural partners worldwide. As exhibitors ourselves, we understand the challenges our clients face and the importance of creating events that give films a renewed public life. The renewed interest of younger audiences in classic cinema is a global trend — and it is strongest when these films are properly framed, restored and presented as collective experiences.”

This approach reflects a broader shift in how mk2 films positions its library: not as catalogue inventory, but as a pipeline for global theatrical events. That strategy is already delivering results. Recent rollouts include the theatrical return of Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah and the global centenary reissue of Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, which launched at Cannes Classics before expanding to 2,000 screens across 76 territories.

“With The Gold Rush, we wanted to show that a classic can still become a shared theatrical event at international scale,” said Jacques-Antoine Jagou, International Sales Executive at mk2 films. “The response confirmed that when restoration, editorial framing and release strategy are aligned, heritage cinema can generate real momentum in cinemas. We now intend to build on this network of partners for future worldwide events around major works from the mk2 films library.”

Looking ahead, mk2 films is lining up a new cycle of global rollouts built around Abbas Kiarostami, Jacques Demy and Charles Chaplin. The company will mark the 30th anniversary of Kiarostami’s Palme d’Or-winning Taste of Cherry in 2027, while continuing to bring renewed attention to the Abbas Kiarostami collection. It is also preparing new initiatives around Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort, one of the most beloved French musicals of the 1960s, as well as a global reactivation of Charles Chaplin’s work for today’s audiences. The Chaplin programme will feature a curated line-up of his most iconic films, presented as a contemporary, ready-to-release programme that highlights the timeless, universal and striking relevance of his work today.

The strategy is clear: in a crowded marketplace, mk2 films is betting that curated auteur cinema, powered by an extensive acquisition strategy, film restoration, editorial framing and global coordination, can break through as event programming — giving distributors, exhibitors and cultural partners a pipeline of ready-to-activate classics capable of mobilising audiences worldwide.