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Hewes Pictures launches Cannes Market sales with Academy Award entry - EXCLUSIVE

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Courtesy of Hewes Pictures

NYC sales label Hewes Pictures announced an onslaught of new acquisitions being unveiled at this year’s Cannes Film Market.

Algeria’s official Academy Award entry Heliopolis is based on true events from May 1945 where French colonial forces attacked thousands of Algerians in Guelma. Directed by Djaffar Gacem, Heliopolis has the chance to be Algeria’s first Oscars entry since Costa-Gavras’ 1970 film “Z.”

A Living Dog, the epic sci-fi action film by Daniel Raboldt, is Hewes’ fastest selling title to date. After its debut at EFM 2021 in February, the VFX virtuoso from Germany has already secured distribution in the UK, Japan, Korea, Turkey, Ireland, Russia, the Baltics and North America, where it’s being prepared for an October release in limited theaters, cable and on VOD.

Continuing its tradition of championing films made by women, the label is presenting the multiple award-winning Once Upon a River by Haroula Rose, which had its US release via Film Movement. The film, snagging Best Director wins at the Boston Film Festival and BendFilm, follows a girl’s unexpected journey on the Stark River to find her estranged mother after her father is killed in a tragic accident. Also new to the market is Virginia Abramovich’s metaphysical mind-bender Between Waves, which continues to cruise through the festival circuit. The science-fiction drama follows our lead Jamie as she pursues her missing lover through parallel dimensions. After landing distribution in North America and in the UK, the film is preparing for a fall release in limited theaters and on digital. Rounding out this special group is a gorgeous film which is debuting at its first market. Mylissa Fitzsimmons’ stunningly lensed Everything in the End, about a man stranded in a small village during Earth’s final days, was shot on location in Iceland and is Fitzsimmons’ first feature.

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Courtesy of Hewes Pictures

Hewes is also presenting new thrillers from various countries this year. After its premiere at TIFF, Minos Nikolakakis’ award-winning feature Entwined will debut, along with SXSW Special Jury Award-winner The Strange Ones by Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff, Martin Munthe’s Battle of the Gods, James Watts and Kelly Kay’s Death Trip, Stefan Muller’s Marlene, and Justin Oakey’s Canadian Screen Award Best Cinematography nominated A Fire in the Cold Season.

Acquisitions were negotiated by executives Kifah Foutah and Michael Mejia, respectively, with Hewes’ head of sales and acquisitions Princeton Holt at the helm.

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