Sideshow, Janus Take Catherine Breillat’s Cannes Competition Title ‘Last Summer’ for North America

The feature, which premiered in the Cannes competition lineup, is a French adaptation of May el-Toukhy’s Danish drama. Queen of Hearts, which won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2019. In the French version, Léa Drucker stars as Anne, a brilliant lawyer with a seemingly perfect husband and family film who puts everything at risk when she starts up a passionate love affair with her teenage stepson. . Samuel Kircher and Olivier Rabourdin co-star. Last Summer was produced by Saïd Ben Saïd for SBS production. The film is Breillat’s first feature in a decade, since Abuse of Weakness in 2013.

“Catherine Breillat is one of the boldest and most thought-provoking directors on the subject of desire,” said Sideshow and Janus Films in a statement. “It’s exciting to have her back after 10 years with one of her best films. We are looking forward to introducing her to an entire new generation of moviegoers.”

After its festival tour, the Sideshow and Janus are planning a theatrical run for Last Summer. The deal for the film was negotiated by Pyramide International on behalf of the filmmakers with Sideshow and Janus Films.

Last Summer marks Sideshow and Janus Films’ second Cannes pick-up this year, following their acquisition of US rights to Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses, which won the best actress honor for star Merve Dizdar at this year’s festival. The distributors have a solid track record with Cannes acquisitions, having scooped up Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s eventual Oscar-winner. Drive My Car in 2021, and Jerzy Skolimowski’s Oscar-nominated EO in Cannes last year.