EXCLUSIVE: Cannes Directors’ Fortnight documentary De Humani Corporis Fabrica has sold to U.S. (Grasshopper Film and Gratitude), Australia & New Zealand (Madman) and Spain (Vitrine Filmes) for Paris-based sales firm Les Films Du Losange.
The film focuses on the goings on at five hospitals in northern Paris. Composed out of 350 hours of footage, filmmakers Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (whose Leviathan was a festival favourite back in 2012) literally go inside the human body via the cameras that accompany surgical tools — through blood vessels, down intestines, along spinal columns — and also chart the experiences of nurses, doctors and other workers in the institutions.
The domestic deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film with Alice Lesort of Films du Losange. Release is being lined up for late 2022.
Producers are Norte Productions, CG Cinema, Rita Productions and the Sensory Ethnography Lab.
“We are so happy to partner with Grasshopper Film and Gratitude Films on Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s new documentary. The response from the press and the public to the film after its Cannes’ premiere has been really strong – there was quite a buzz! We know that they are the perfect home for such a special film,” said Alice Lesort, Head of International Sales at Les Films du Losange.
“Having released previous films from the Sensory Ethnography Lab, like Leviathan, Sweetgrass, Manakamana, and Caniba, we are thrilled to be working on Verena and Lucien’s latest, the astonishing De Humani Corporis Fabrica,” commented Ryan Krivoshey. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Gratitude Films on its release and look forward to collaborating with Les Films du Losange and the entire filmmaking team.”