Distrib Films Acquires U.S. Rights to Studiocanal’s ‘The Perfect Nanny,’ ‘Someone Somewhere’ (EXCLUSIVE)

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Distrib Films has acquired U.S. rights to Lucie Borleteau’s “The Perfect Nanny” and Cédric Klapisch’s “Someone Somewhere,” both of which will screen at the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York, a festival organised by the Film Society of the Lincoln Center and UniFrance.

A psychological thriller, “The Perfect Nanny” is adapted from Leila Slimani’s bestselling novel “Chanson Douce” which was awarded France’s highest literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, in 2016.

Represented in international markets by Studiocanal, “The Perfect Nanny” follows Myriam (Leïla Bekhti), a lawyer who decides to return to work after having children. She and her husband (Antoine Reinartz) think they’ve found the perfect nanny for their son and daughter. The film’s U.S. remake rights have been acquired by Legendary and Paul Downs Colaizzo is on board to adapt and direct the English-language adaptation. “The Perfect Nanny” was produced by Pascal Caucheteux of Why Not Productions and Philippe Godeau of Pan-Européenne.

“Someone Somewhere,” which is also repped by , stars Ana Girardot and François Civil as two Parisian thirty-year-olds who unexpectedly cross paths and fall in love. The movie, which was produced by Ce qui me meut in co-production with Studiocanal, marks Klapisch’s follow up to “Back to Burgundy.”

At the New York Rendez-Vous, Distrib Films will also have Mounia Meddour’s “Papicha,” the politically-minded French-Algerian film which world premiered at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard.

Besides “The Perfect Nanny” and “Someone Somewhere,” Distrib Films also just acquired “Santiago, Italia,” Nanni Moretti’s documentary chronicling the stories of Chileans who survived the fall of Allende and the Pinochet regime with the help of the Italian embassy in Santiago.

“Our current lineup underscores our ambition to handle films from different nationalities and genre in a market like the U.S. where exhibitors are increasingly difficult to get on board,” said François Scippa Kohn, the founder of Distrib Films. “We’re convinced that audiences still have an appetite for smart foreign films that are less and less present on streaming services,” said the exec.

Some films recently handled by the company include Michael Herbig’s German movie “Balloon,” and Donato Carrisi’s Italian psychological thriller film “The Girl in the Fog.”