1-2 Special Acquires Cannes Critics’ Week Winner ‘La Gradiva’ for North America

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Distributor 1-2 Special has acquired all North American rights to La Gradiva, the debut feature from French filmmaker and cinematographer Marine Atlan, which won best film at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week. A theatrical release is planned, with dates to be announced.

The film follows a group of high school students on a class trip to Naples who, amid the ruins of Pompeii, are overtaken by surges of desire, anger, and despair. Atlan co-wrote the script with Anne Brouillet and also served as cinematographer alongside Pierre Mazoyer.

Before moving to directing, Atlan built her career behind the camera on films including Jessica Forever, The Rapture, Summer Scars, and Queens of Drama. Her cinematography on The Girl in the Snow earned a César nomination, and her short films have screened at the Berlinale, Clermont-Ferrand, and Brive festivals. The La Gradiva script was awarded the Fondation GAN Grand Prize in 2024.

In his review for The Hollywood Reporter Jordan Mintzer called La Gradiva a “stunning debut” that depicts French teens “in the throes of art, angst and ecstasy with a rare emotional honesty.”

La Gradiva was produced by Inès Daïen Dasi of Les Films du Poisson, with Angelo Barbagallo as co-producer and Yaël Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez as associate producers. The deal was negotiated by mk2 on behalf of the filmmakers.

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