Venice & Toronto

20 September 2019

From space odysseys to surrogacy dramas via hand painted animations and art thefts, the Premier Film Team were once again ubiquitous at the Venice Film Festival this year. First time filmmakers and veterans alike were represented as their films premiered on the Lido and the world’s press experienced daring cinematic works for the first time. We represented ten films including AD ASTRA, BOMBAY ROSE, 45 SECONDS OF LAUGHTER, LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST, MY DAYS OF GLORY, SOLE, RIALTO, SCALES, THE LONG WALK and closing night film THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY. Premier worked across premieres, photo calls, press conferences and junkets in Venice with esteemed names such as Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki, Donald Sutherland, Tim Robbins and Mick Jagger. The humidity of Venice in late summer was not enough to deter the Film Team and our hard work was vindicated as SCALES, the debut feature from Shahad Ameen, was awarded the Verona prize which rewards the most innovative film in Critics’ Week.

There is no rest for the wicked and before Venice had even finished, members of the Film Team flew across the Atlantic to represent films at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Premier represented six films in a variety of languages from a range of filmmakers. These included Rose Glass’s feature debut SAINT MAUD which electrified critics following its Midnight Madness screening, Academy Award winner Alejandro Amenábar’s depiction of the Spanish Civil War MIENTRAS DE LA GUERRE (WHILE AT WAR) and CALM WITH HORSES which features a star making performance from Cosmo Jarvis and announced the arrival of exciting new directorial talent, Nick Rowland. Our continuing work for the international campaign for THE REPORT saw us collaborate with Adam Driver, Anette Bening, Scott Z. Burns and Jon Hamm during the festival. The Film Team also took SOLE from Venice to Toronto and our slate was rounded out by Alice Winocour’s PROXIMA which garnered some of the best reviews of star Eva Green’s career and David Zonana’s politically engaged thriller WORKFORCE.