‘Tres’ From Oscar-Nominated Juanjo Gimenez Acquired by Le Pacte (EXCLUSIVE)

By John Hopewell

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – France’s Le Pacte has acquired international and French rights to “Tres,” the second feature from Spain’s Juanjo Giménez, whose 2016 “Timecode” won a Cannes Palme d’Or for best short and went on to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Set up at Spain’s Frida Films and Nadir Films, “Tres” will be co-produced by France’s Manny Films and M-Films in Lithuania.

A fantasy-tinged social parable, “Tres” turns on a 39-year-old woman, called C., who finds refuge in her work as a sound designer from caring for her aged mother and the pleadings of her ex. But her brain has begun to “de-synchronize,” processing sounds later than images. Her mother dies, forcing her to abandon her work, and her illness proves a second-chance opportunity as she begins a relationship with her sign-language teacher.

A winner at the Torino Film Lab while in development, and written with Giménez’s co-writer Pere Altimira, “Tres” portrays C.’s syndrome as “a sensory journey which allows her to mature,” Giménez said.

The syndrome suffered by C. does exist, said Giménez. “We want to play with the basic tools of cinema, image and sound,” he said. “The syndrome could be seen as negative, but for C. it’s an emotional earthquake which allows her to understand the world in a way she hadn’t before.”

“Tres” is scheduled to go into production in November, shooting for seven weeks in Barcelona and Galicia.