Independent film champion MK2 Films (“Sentimental Value”) has joined director Ira Sachs for “The Man I Love.” The film is one of the high-profile films scheduled to have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and is currently the only American film scheduled to compete for the Palme d’Or.
Starring Oscar-winning actress Rami Malek, The Man I Love is set in the heady days of New York in the late ’80s and tells the story of the dying actor Jimmy George in what may be his last major role. Filled with music, color, and passion, this drama follows an artist and a group of friends for whom creativity is a form of survival. Sacks and longtime collaborator Mauricio Zacharias co-wrote the screenplay.
The cast includes Tom Sturridge (The Kremlin), Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Ebon Moss-Bachlack (The Bear), and newcomer Luther Ford (The Crown).
Fionnuala Jamieson, managing director of MK2 Films, said: “The Man I Love felt like the perfect moment to jump into collaborating with a director we’ve admired for many years.”
“This film brings together everything that makes Ira’s films so distinctive: emotional precision, intimacy, and deep humanity, opening the film in a way that feels both expansive and deeply moving,” Jamison added, praising the “amazing cast led by Rami Malek.”
MK2 Films has had an impressive run in the latest awards season, picking up a whopping 15 Oscar nominations for Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, and Jafar Panahi’s It Was an Accident.
“The Man I Love” is produced by Big Creek Project (David Siegel, Scott McGee, Mike Spreter) with Miriam Schroeter, Misuk Doolittle and Saeed Ben Said for SBS Productions. WME Independent will handle North American sales.
Sachs said he was “starstruck” by MK2 Films and had wanted to work with the French company since the late 1980s, when he began attending Parisian cinemas.
“I feel comforted and delighted to be working with this thoughtful and experienced team on such a personal film,” said Sachs.
Meanwhile, Mike Spreter of Big Creek Projects said, “Ira has done his best work, creating a thrilling, emotionally rich piece of cinema. We are thrilled to be teaming up with MK2 to bring his vision to the world.”
The Man I Love’s creative team includes many of Sachs’ frequent collaborators, including cinematographer José Deshayes (The Passage), editor Afonso Gonçalves (Hamnet), casting director Avy Kaufman (Sentimental Value), production designer Tommy Love (Reality), and costume designer Megan Gray (Lurker).
