Irish co-production ‘Love & Friendship’ - shot in Dublin and directed by Oscar nominee Whit Stillman – has been selected to open the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival on April 21st.
‘Love & Friendship’ made its’ premiere at Sundance earlier this year with The Guardian, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter all praising the film, in particular Kate Beckinsale’s lead performance and Whit Stillman’s direction.
After Berlin last month, Protagonist Pictures revealed the film has sold to Italy (Academy 2), Germany (KSM), Poland and Israel (Forum Films), Australia and New Zealand (Transmission), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainment), Switzerland (Frenetic Films), Portugal (Zon Lusomundo), Former Yugoslavia (Karantanija), Turkey (Movieturk), South Korea (Sookie Pictures), Taiwan (Proview), Asia PTV (Fox), Latin America (California Filmes), Canada (Cinetic Media, brokered by Mongrel Media) and for airlines (Jaguar Distribution).
Deals are also imminent for Spain and China, while producer deals have been struck for France (Sophie Dulac Distribution) and Benelux (Cineart).
Shot in February and March 2015 in Dublin, ‘Love and Friendship’ is an Irish/French/Dutch co-production between Westerly Films, Blinder Films, Chic Films, Revolver Films, Irish Film Board, Arte and the Netherlands Film Fund.
The Irish producer is Katie Holly of Blinder Films and the Line Producer is Cathleen Dore.
Directed by Oscar nominee Whit Stillman (‘Metropolitan’), the film stars Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny in the lead roles (re-uniting them with Stillman after 1998’s ‘The Last Days of Disco’).
The film is based on Stillman’s adaptation of the Jane Austen’s Lady Susan – a novella that Austen never submitted for publication which describes the schemes of the main character, the widowed Lady Susan (played by Beckinsale), as she seeks a new husband for herself and one for her daughter.
