08 oct 2026 mk2 acquires Archipel 35 and rights to the Dardenne brothers’ films

Forty-three films, two Palme d’Or winners and nearly half a century of cinema are joining the mk2 collection, which now comprises more than 1,000 titles. Through the acquisition of Archipel 35 and the rights to the films of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne from their company Les Films du Fleuve, mk2 welcomes the work of the Belgian brothers alongside major films by Pierre Schoeller, Abderrahmane Sissako, Pascale Ferran, Ursula Meier and Patricia Mazuy.

mk2 announces the acquisition of Archipel 35, founded by producer Denis Freyd, as well as the rights to the films of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne from their company Les Films du Fleuve. The operation encompasses 43 films, ranging from Le Chant du Rossignol, directed by the Dardenne brothers in 1978, to Young Mothers, winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

At the heart of the acquisition are 20 films directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Since The Promise and Rosetta, the Belgian filmmakers have built a body of work deeply engaged with the world of work, youth, social precarity and the moral choices facing their characters. Over three decades, their filmography has become one of the most significant and acclaimed bodies of work in European and world cinema.

Nine-time award winners at the Cannes Film Festival, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne belong to the highly exclusive group of filmmakers to have won the Palme d’Or twice, for Rosetta in 1999 and The Child in 2005. They also received the Grand Prix for The Kid with a Bike in 2011 and the Best Director award for Young Ahmed in 2019. In 2025, 26 years after their first Palme d’Or, they won the Best Screenplay award for Young Mothers. Presented in Competition at Cannes in 2014, Two Days, One Night, starring Marion Cotillard, also earned the actress an Academy Award nomination.

A producer known for his longstanding relationships with filmmakers, Denis Freyd has built Archipel 35 into a distinctive catalogue of European and international auteur cinema. Alongside the work of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Archipel 35 catalogue includes films by 18 other European and international filmmakers, among them Abderrahmane Sissako with Bamako; Pierre Schoeller with The Minister; Pascale Ferran with Bird People; Delphine and Muriel Coulin with 17 Girls and The Stopover; Ursula Meier with Home and Sister; Laurent Cantet with The Workshop; and Patricia Mazuy with Saint-Cyr, starring Isabelle Huppert.

From Belgium and France to Switzerland and Africa, these films share a cinema rooted in reality, attentive to social and political dynamics as much as to intimate personal journeys. They have regularly been recognised at Cannes and Berlin, while also connecting with audiences: together, the films have generated nearly seven million theatrical admissions in France. The Kid with a Bike alone attracted more than 800,000 admissions in French cinemas, while Rosetta, Two Days, One Night and The Minister each passed the half-million admissions mark. Two Days, One Night drew more than 520,000 admissions in France and grossed over $9 million worldwide.

The acquisition builds on mk2’s longstanding commitment to preserving and championing films and filmmakers. Founded by Marin Karmitz in 1974, the group developed its collection alongside its cinema exhibition and production activities. Today numbering more than 1,000 titles, it brings together filmmakers including Charles Chaplin, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Abbas Kiarostami, as well as contemporary directors including Justine Triet, Jafar Panahi, Joachim Trier, Céline Sciamma and Andrey Zvyagintsev.

The addition of the Dardenne brothers’ films and Denis Freyd’s productions to the mk2 collection extends this lineage: a tradition of auteur cinema combining artistic ambition, an acute engagement with its time and a desire to connect with audiences.

“Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and Denis Freyd have built, film by film, a living heritage of European cinema. We are honoured that they have chosen mk2 to carry that legacy forward,” said Nathanaël Karmitz, Chairman of the Executive Board of mk2. “Their artistic rigour and attention to reality are deeply aligned with mk2’s history. These works naturally belong alongside those of the great filmmakers we champion every day. Our ambition is to preserve this heritage, keep it alive across all screens and enable it to reach new generations of audiences.”

“Since our first documentaries, we have always believed that cinema is a living art, born to be seen, passed on and discussed,” said Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. “Entrusting our films to mk2 today will allow them to continue their journey and reach new generations of audiences, both in France and internationally.”

“Archipel 35 was built around a simple conviction: to support singular filmmakers and give them the means to make the films they believe in,” said producer Denis Freyd. “I am delighted that the catalogue is now joining mk2, whose history and commitment to transmission offer these works a natural continuity.”

With this acquisition, an essential chapter of contemporary European cinema joins the mk2 collection, ensuring that these works continue to live on and are passed on to new generations.

Image: Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne © Christine Plenus