Berlin-based world sales company M-Appeal has closed a string of international deals out of the Cannes Film Market on Michiel van Erp’s “Downtown,” Joaquín del Paso’s “The Garden We Dreamed” and Muriel d’Ansembourg’s “Truly Naked.”
Dutch drama “Downtown,” which M-Appeal launched at the Cannes Film Market, has sold to Dark Star Pictures for North America and Salzgeber for Germany and Austria. The film is set to world premiere at Frameline soon.
Set between the hedonistic gay nightlife of 1980s Amsterdam and the present day, “Downtown” follows three young men whose bond is forged on the dance floor of the city’s nightclub scene, before the disappearance of regulars begins to alter the atmosphere of their local paradise and the relationships within it.
The film features some of the Netherlands’ leading actors, including Yorick van Wageningen, Hans Kesting and Roeland Fernhout. It is produced by Maarten Swart of Kaap Holland Film, and Van Erp and Monique Busman of Het Familiedrama.
” ‘Downtown’ is the rare kind of story that feels both deeply personal and broadly accessible at the same time. Director Michiel van Erp has done a masterful job crafting a film that will stay with audiences long after the credits will roll, and we are incredibly excited to be bringing it to North American audiences,” Michael Repsch at Dark Star Pictures said.
