MK2 Films has acquired movies by Michael Haneke, Ang Lee and Xavier Dolan as a part of its technique to reposition auteur classics as world theatrical occasions.
Among the many headline offers, MK2 has secured worldwide rights, apart from Germany, Italy, France, the U.S., the U.Ok., Spain and Australia, to Haneke’s 2007 English-language remake of “Funny Games,” starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth. The acquisition, concluded with Chris Coen Movies Ltd., provides to a Haneke slate that already consists of “Code Unknown” and “The Piano Teacher.”
MK2 has additionally acquired worldwide rights to newly restored variations of Lee’s “Pushing Hands,” “The Wedding Banquet” and “Eat Drink Man Woman,” in a take care of the Taiwan Movie and Audiovisual Institute, the place the movies have been initially restored by CMPC.
MK2 has additionally taken worldwide rights to Dolan’s “I Killed My Mother” and “Heartbeats” from Nancy Grant, after beforehand holding French rights to “Heartbeats.” They be part of “Laurence Anyways” and “Tom at the Farm,” in addition to French rights to “Mommy” and “It’s Only the End of the World.”
On the U.S. indie entrance, MK2 is reactivating Gregg Araki’s “Mysterious Skin,” a Sundance breakout, by a director-approved new 4K restoration, which premiered at Sundance Classics this yr. Extra 4K-restored titles embody Lisa Cholodenko’s “High Art” and Martha Coolidge’s “Not a Pretty Picture.”
In parallel, MK2 is rolling out a brand new 4K restoration of Ari Folman’s milestone animated documentary “Waltz With Bashir,” which has not too long ago joined the corporate’s assortment.
“These acquisitions are part of a long-term editorial strategy,” mentioned Frédérique Rouault, head of collections at MK2. “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 observe the latest acquisition of worldwide rights to Céline Sciamma’s early movies “Naissance des Pieuvres,” “Tomboy” and “Girlhood,” finishing a group that already consists of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “Petite Maman.”
The corporate can be deepening its partnership with Martin Scorsese’s The Movie Basis. Relying on titles, MK2 represents worldwide rights, excluding North America, to a number of options restored by the Basis’s World Cinema Challenge. Ten new movies have not too long ago joined the deal, together with Sergei Parajanov’s “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” Idrissa Ouédraogo’s “Yam Daabo” and Dariush Mehrjui’s “The Postman,” all restored in 4K.
For MK2 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.”
