Paris-based international sales and production house Totem Films is heading into Cannes with two new senior hires and a trio of recently-boarded co-productions.
Margot Hervee will head up sales and acquisitions after spending six years at global platform Mubi. Pablo Carrizosa will be handling business affairs for Totem’s production and sales branches, as well as being the new point of contact for Spain and Portugal in sales and acquisitions. The duo will join Nuria Palaenzuela, who has been head of festivals for Totem since 2020.
Totem Atelier’s production arm Totem is working hard on several international coproductions including Anna Roller’s Italy-set road film Dead Girls Dancing that premieres in Tribeca’s international narrative competition. Totem will coproduce with German producer Kalekone, and is handling the international sales. The company will also be co-producing and selling internationally for Slovenian director Kukla’s debut feature
Fantasy, following the festival workshop circuit at Les Arcs 2021, Cinefondation 2022 and WEMW 2022. Totem Atelier is co-producing with Barbara Daljavec of December Production.Also on Totem’s co-production and sales slate is Vytautas Katkus’ first feature
The Visitor, part of Critics’ Week’s Next Step program in 2021 and Les Arcs in 2022 where it won the Arte Kino Prize. Totem Atelier co-produces with Marija Razgute’s M-Films who are behind Marija Kavtaradze’s Sundance prize-winning Slow. Since its launch in 2019, Totem, which is currently managed by Laure Parleani & Berenice Vincent, has carved a niche both in production and sales. Totem Films acquires features films to sell globally, while Totem Atelier develops and finances early-stage projects that have international potential. Since the founding of Totem we have learned how important it is to connect the production with the launch. In 2022, 90% of the films in the company’s line-up will be directed by women. In 2022, 90% of the films in the company’s line-up were directed by women.On the sales end, Totem Films will bring two films premiering in Directors’ Fortnight to Cannes; Geng Zihan’s
Song Sung Blue and Elene Naveriani’s Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry.
Also on its Cannes market slate are Levan Akin’s
Passage
which has already been sold to several key territories, and Ernst de Geer’s Hypnosis, a Totem Atelier co-production, for which Totem will launch the first images and trailer at the market.Cannes adds 14 new titles to 2023 Official Selection
