Nabis Film Berlin, producer of Sofia Exalkow’s Animal, Radu Jude’s Dracula and Maureen Fazendeiro’s Seasons, is developing Michael M, the first solo feature film from Laura Bierbrower, whose Far From Us, co-directed with Verena Kuri, was selected for the Forum at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival.
The project was selected from among 12 titles selected to be screened at the upcoming Proyecta, a co-production platform held jointly by the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film and the San Sebastian Film Festival in December at Ventana Sur.
“Michael M,” also written by Bierbrauer, is partially set in Buenos Aires in the 1930s, and the synopsis is that Michael, an exiled writer, tries to continue his work despite his trembling hands in the overwhelming city. “Decades later, he reenters the life of the Argentine artist Mari through a book. She becomes obsessed with his fantasies and begins to pursue him. Until one day he hears her whistling.”
“Michael Romina Power, star of director M. Santiago Mitre’s debut film The Student, winner of San Sebastián Horizontes Latino, and director and subject of the documentary-fiction hybrid Again, Once Again, will play Mari. Michael will be played by German director and cinematographer Gerd Roscher (Ritual der Schwarzen Sonne).
“Throughout one book, the lives of two characters from different eras are intertwined: Michael, who was writing in exile in the 1930s, and Mari, who took refuge in its pages to escape the demands of the present,” Bierbrauer said. “As their path unfolds, memory and presence, fact and fantasy merge in a montage, a changing space, and the image itself, culminating in their encounter on the streets of modern-day Buenos Aires.”
Nabis Film Group Details
Nabis Film Group was founded by Lukas Valenta Riner, a film director and producer who directed 2015’s “Parabellum,” which was selected for the main competition in Rotterdam and won the Jeonju Special Jury Prize, and 2016’s “A Decent Woman,” which worked between Austria, Germany, and Argentina.
“We are dedicated to producing bold, auteur-driven films that expand the form and language of cinema. Our focus is on projects that connect Europe and Latin America culturally and artistically, and that embody a strong personal directorial vision,” Navis Film Berlin producer Iris Jansen told Variety.
He added: “Beer Bloor’s new project bridges the film cultures of Argentina and Central Europe, uniting prominent actors and creative teams from both regions, an integration that is at the heart of Nabis’ artistic identity.”
Upcoming films from Nabis include new releases from Kylo Russo and Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias, “furthering our long-term partnership and strong reputation for bold, formally original films with international reach,” Janssen said.
Nabis is also the producer of Hernán Roselli’s new film “Hard-Boiled School.”
“Each project is developed around the voice of the director, leveraging multi-regional support from the European Film Fund and partners in Latin America,” Janssen said. “As public funding structures in Europe become increasingly tight, we are also forging close collaborations with equity investors and private film funds who share our vision of high-quality, author-led, international productions,” she added.