28 aug 2018 mk2 films on board with Céline Sciamma and Corneliu Porumboiu’s next films

mk2 films is representing Céline Sciamma’s PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, a deeply intimate period drama starring award-winning actress Adèle Haenel (120bpm, The Unknown Girl) as the model of an 18th century female painter.

Produced by Lilies Films and set for delivery in the first half of 2019, the film follows Héloïse, a reluctant bride to be who has just left the convent, and her relationship with Marianne, the painter commissioned to do her wedding portrait. Intimacy and attraction grow between the two women as they share Heloise’s first and last moments of freedom.

Céline Sciamma has quickly risen to be one of the most prominent new voices of French cinema, gaining critical recognition for her films which include Water Lilies (Cannes 2007 – Un Certain Regard), Tomboy (Berlin 2011 Teddy Jury Prize) and Girlhood (Cannes 2014, Directors’ Fortnight Opening film).

“Céline Sciamma is so resolutely modern, her sensibility and sensuousness have always been intertwined with an incredibly courageous take on gender politics, that we have always greatly admired. We are truly thrilled to be accompanying this project” says Juliette Schrameck, managing director of mk2 films.

Pyramide Films is on board for the French distribution.

mk2 films has acquired sales of Corneliu Porumboiu’s upcoming THE PASSENGER. The Romanian new wave master whose previous titles included The Treasure (Cannes 2015 Un Certain Regard, Un Certain Talent Prize), Police, Adjective (Cannes 2009 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize) and 12:08 East of Bucharest (Cannes 2006 Directors Fortnight, Golden Camera) returns here with a Film Noir crime story set between Romania, the Canary Islands, and Singapore, starring Vlad Ivanov in the lead role (Graduation, 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days).

“We are thrilled to be working once again with Corneliu Porumboiu, one of the most original filmmakers to come out of Europe and a critics’ favorite known for his cutting-edge humor and subtle tales on the absurdity of modern life,” says Juliette Schrameck.

42km Film and Les Films du Worso are producing the feature, due for delivery in the first half of 2019. mk productions, with recent titles including ASH IS PUREST WHITE by Jia  Zhang-Ke and COLD WAR by Pawel Pawlikowski, is also on board as coproducer. Diaphana has acquired rights for the French distribution.