Spanish distrib co-produces Coixet's 'Ayer'
SAN SEBASTIAN — Spain’s Jose Coronado, star of recent U.S. pick-up “No Rest for the Wicked,” is attached to Gaumont-produced adventure comedy “Turning Tide.”
Arly Jover (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) has also been cast. Barcelona-based A Contracorriente Films will co-produce the €17 million ($22.1 million) movie, with France’s Les Films du Cap and Belgium’s Scope Pictures. Directed by first-timer Christophe Offestein, “Tide” toplines Francois Cluzet (“The Untouchables”) and actor-director Guillaume Canet (“Last Night”). Set during the Vendee Globe round-the-world yacht race, pic rolls Oct. 1 in Lorient, on Brittany’s southern coast. Shoot continues for three months, taking in location-work in Spain’s Canary Islands. “Tide” expands Contracorriente’s relationship with French producer-distrib Gaumont, which includes the co-production of San Sebastian’s Culinary Cinema sidebar comedy “The Chef.” Spain’s top indie distributor in 2012, according to Rentrak, Contracorriente has snagged a spectacular $26.4 million B.O. to date, driven by Gaul’s Oscar foreign language entry “Untouchables” ($21.2 million). One of Spain’s best-capitalized film companies, Contracorriente is teaming with Miss Wasabi Films to co-produce Isabel Coixet’s “Ayer no termina nunca.” Spanish actors Javier Camara (“I’m So Excited”) and Candela Pena (“Princesses”) star. Budgeted under $1.3 million, according to Contracorriente founder Adolfo Blanco, pic rolls from Sept. 18 through mid-October outside Barcelona. Coixet penned the script and majority-produces via Miss Wasabi. Contracorriente will distribute “Ayer” in Spanish theaters and handle international rights. Set in 2017, the plot captures Spain’s current crisis, echoing Coixet’s 2003 Sarah Polley-starrer, “My Life Without Me,” Coixet said. Film should be ready for next year’s Berlinale, Blanco said. Tribeca Film acquired North American rights to “No Rest.”