European Film Market Puts Polarized Dealmaking in Sharp Relief
variety.comEuropean Film Market has felt lopsided.Sony’s $60 million deal for Tom Hanks’ “A Man Called Otto,” an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling Swedish-language novel “A Man Called Ove” — which was made into an Oscar-nominated Swedish feature — that grabbed headlines early on (Variety understands it boiled down to a bidding war between the studio and Apple), but hasn’t necessarily spawned the usual flurry of deals from Berlin halfway through the festival.One buyer from a major U.K.
distributor says the EFM vibe has felt “muted” for a company of its size, with an absence of broad-appeal product available once “Otto” was snapped up by Sony. “The lack of mainstream commercial packages is frustrating, and only puts more pressure on Cannes needing to deliver something big for all,” complained the source.
Ultimately, the EFM pre-buy packages available — highlights include the Rosamund Pike-fronted pandemic thriller “Rich Flu,” Jonestown Massacre project “White Night” and Evan Rachel Wood WWII drama “All That I Am” — reveal a marketplace that’s increasingly squeezing out the mini-majors, with super-premium product like “Otto” on one end of the spectrum and strong but significantly smaller indie packages at the other end.But that’s not to say deals aren’t quietly bubbling away, particularly for smaller-scale market packages, as well as gems from the festival’s aggressively independent line-up.“We’ve been impressed and heartened by the overall optimism and buoyancy of the market, with some super interesting pre-sale packages available, with quality talent behind and in front of the camera, and a fair few excellent completed titles emerging,” said Paul Ridd, head of acquisitions for the U.K.’s Picturehouse Entertainment, who’s.
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