Cannes Film Festival launches remake market for film adaptations

The Wages of Fear, directed by Julien Leclercq, is a new French Netflix film based on the 1953 Henri-Georges Clouzot adventure-thriller classic.

Netflix

Cannes is in the field of reproduction.

Cannes’s film market, Marché du Film, is launching a one-day event focused entirely on remaking and adapting existing films in the local language.

In collaboration with CNC, the French National Film Council, and with the support of the Spanish Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), the Directorate General of Italian Cinema, the Italian Ministry of Audiovisual Culture (DGCA-MiC) and the Rome-based Cinecittà studio, Cannes Remakes will host It is a one-day event on May 20 to highlight carefully selected European intellectual property ready for new film adaptations.

The opening program will include a pitch session for a selection of IPs from France, Spain and Italy believed to have the greatest potential for film adaptation. This screening will be followed by a series of pre-arranged one-on-one meetings between IP holders and producers, culminated by an invitation-only networking cocktail on CNC Beach.

There’s no denying that the remake market is booming, driven by investment from global streaming services in local language adaptations and a growing desire to reduce risk by betting on the proven success of existing intellectual property.

Last week, See-Saw Films, the producer of Oscar-winning films King’s speech And Dog powerSigned a deal to adapt Michael Ende’s German fantasy novel The never-ending story, the foundation of the film franchise in the 1980s and early 1990s, was introduced as a series of new live-action feature films. On Friday, Netflix will release Julian Leclercq’s film The reward of feara new French film adaptation of the 1953 French adventure thriller of the same name by Henri-Georges Clouzot (which William Friedkin used as the basis for his own 1977 thriller). sorcerer). Nimrod Antal 2023 Liam Neeson closed thriller Retribution It is a remake of the 2015 Spanish film by Dani de la Torre Disconocido. And on and on.

“The remake is injecting a new dynamism into the film industry, signaling a remarkable transformation,” says Guillaume Esmeul, CEO of the Cinema Market. “It’s not just about remakes in English; there is a growing trend for cross-language adaptations. Audiences are drawn to narratives that resonate with distinct cultural nuances, paving the way for diverse global storytelling.

Jeremy Kessler, CNC’s director of European and international affairs, said supporting remake films had become a “strategic priority” for the French Film Council as demand for European intellectual property from “US studios and buyers from Asia” looking for original material to adapt continues to grow.

Kessler says the market for the new edition of Cannes “fits with our massive support for exports, but also with our strategic priority of defending strategic cultural assets and strengthening European intellectual property.” “Because it is these intellectual property rights that create value for international producers, sellers and companies, and make it possible to support truly free and independent European creativity.”

Cannes is part of a series of new initiatives at the Marché du Film supported by European support body Creative Europe Media. Cannes Market 2024 runs from May 14 to 22. The 77th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 14 to 25.