Nabis Film Berlin, a producer on Sofía Exarchou’s “Animal,” Radu Jude’s “Dracula” and Maureen Fazendeiro’s “The Seasons,” is developing “Michael M.,” the first solo feature of Laura Bierbrauer, whose “Far From Us,” co-directed with Verena Kuri, was selected for the 2019 Berlin Film Festival’s Forum.
The project features among the 12 titles selected for pitching at the upcoming edition of Proyecta, the co-production platform at December’s Ventana Sur, jointly organized by the Cannes Festival’s’ Marché du Film and the San Sebastián Film Festival.
Also written by Bierbrauer, “Michael M,” is set in part in 1930s Buenos Aires where exiled writer Michael attempts to continue his work, though the overwhelming city make his hands tremble, a synopsis runs. “Decades later, he reenters the life of Argentine artist Mari through a book. She engages with his fantasies and begins to follow him, until one day he hears her whistling.”
Described by Nabis as telling a “story of longing and exile, and of the transformative power of art,” “Michael M.” Will star Romina Power, star of Santiago Mitre’s debut The Student and director and subject of doc-fiction hybrid “Again, Once Again,” a San Sebastián Horizontes Latinos winner, is set to play Mari. Michael will be portrayed by German director-cinematographer Gerd Roscher (“Ritual der schwarzen Sonne”).
“Through a single book, the lives of two figures from different times intertwine: Michael, writing in exile in the 1930s, and Mari, seeking refuge in its pages to escape the demands of the present,” said Bierbrauer. “As their paths unfold, memory and presence, fact and illusion merge in montage, shifting spaces, and within the image itself, culminating in their encounter on the streets of contemporary Buenos Aires.”
More on the Nabis Filmgroup
Founded by filmmaker-producer Lukas Valenta Rinner, who directed 2015’s “Parabellum,” selected for Rotterdam main competition and winner of a Jeonju Special Jury Prize, and 2016’s “A Decent Woman,” operating between Austria, Germany, and Argentina, Nabis Filmgroup
“We are dedicated to producing bold, author-driven films that expand cinematic form and language. Our focus lies on projects that connect Europe and Latin America, both culturally and artistically, and that embody a strong, personal directorial vision,” Nabis Film Berlin producer Iris Janssen told Variety.
She added: “Bierbrauer’s new project bridges Argentinian and Central European film cultures, uniting high-profile actors and creative teams from both regions — a synthesis that lies at the heart of Nabis’ artistic identity.”
Upcoming films from Nabis include new titles from Kiro Russo and Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias, “fostering long-term partnerships and a strong reputation for daring, formally inventive cinema with international reach,” Janssen said.
Nabis is also a producer on Hernán Roselli’s upcoming “Hard-Boiled School.”
“Each project is developed around the director’s voice, while leveraging multi-territorial support from European film funds and Latin American partners,” said Janssen. “With the increasingly hermetic structure of public funding in Europe, we are also developing closer collaborations with equity investors and private film funds that share our vision for high-quality, author-driven international features,” she added.
variety.com
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