The Paul Mescal-led “Aftersun,” which will world premiere at Critics’ Week in Cannes next month, has been picked up for sales by Charades.
Directed by Charlotte Wells, the drama is billed as an intimate story about a young father and his 11-year-old daughter, Sophie, who are on holiday at a resort in Turkey in the late 1990s. The film stars Mescal, the breakout star of “Normal People,” as the father and new talent Frankie Corio as Sophie.
Here’s an official description of the film: Sophie (Corio) reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father (Mescal) 20 years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between MiniDV footage as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.
The film is produced by “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins’ production company Pastel, which is co-founded by Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak; as well as Amy Jackson of Unified Theory, which recently produced the Mark Rylance-led “The Outfit.”
“Aftersun” marks the feature debut of Scottish writer-director Wells, who is based in New York. She wrote and directed three short films as a student in the MBA/MFA dual-degree program at New York University where she was supported by BAFTA New York and Los Angeles.
The pic was financed by BBC Film, BFI and Creative Scotland, in association with Tango. The film was developed with BBC Film. Executive producers are Eva Yates for BBC Film, Lizzie Francke for BFI, Kieran Hannigan for Creative Scotland, and Tim Headington and Lia Buman for Tango.
“We are extremely proud that the producers thought of us to integrate this team of incredible talent. With ‘Aftersun,’ Charlotte has delivered a work of a rare and precious sensitivity and delicacy. A premiere at Cannes is what we have dreamed of for the film,” said representatives for Charades.
Added reps for Pasted and Unified Theory: “We’ve long been jealous of the filmmakers on Charades’ slate. The team has impeccable taste and nourish their directors in the rich and fulfilling way we crave from all of our collaborators. At last, we need be jealous no more!”
In addition to “Aftersun,” Charades’ Cannes slate includes competition titles “Tchaïkovsky’s Wife” by Kirill Serebrennikov and “Forever Young” by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and “Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be,” from Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre, which is part of the Official Selection – Special Screening section.
