Cannes ACID Opener ‘Kyuka’ Sold to Key Territories by Heretic

Athens-based sales and production outfit Heretic has sold key territories on the Cannes Film Festival‘s ACID sidebar opening film, Greece’s “Kyuka: Before Summer’s End.”

Heretic has sealed distribution deals for France with The Dark, Benelux with Gusto Entertainment and Greece with Cinobo.

Directed by feature debutant Kostis Charamountanis, who previously directed several acclaimed shorts, the film follows a family of three, a single father, Babis, and his twin children on the verge of adulthood, Konstantinos and Elsa, who sail to the island of Poros on the family boat for their holidays. In the midst of swimming, sunbathing and making new friends, Konstantinos and Elsa meet, unbeknownst to them, their birth mother Anna who abandoned them when they were babies. The encounter stirs up long-held feelings of resentment in Babis, resulting in a bittersweet coming-of-age journey.

The film, which had its world premiere last week, opening Cannes ACID (Association for the International Distribution of Independent Cinemas), is produced by Danae Spathara, Giorgos Karnavas and Konstantinos Kontovrakis for Heretic, and co-produced by Marija Dimitrova and Igor Ivanov of List Production, North Macedonia.

A spokesperson for The Dark said: “A fiery and enjoyable first film. Somewhere between Jacques Rozier and Jean-Luc Godard under the summer sun.”

A statement from Gusto Entertainment added: “‘Kyuka’ is the perfect fit for Gusto entertainment. We love working with upcoming filmmakers, especially those with an original offbeat signature.”

A Cinobo spokesperson said: “We are more than excited to have onboard one of the most promising Greek film directors of our time. Charamountanis’ film captures our memories of the endless Greek summer and presents feelings that are familiar tο us, but with surprising narrative ideas.”

Heretic has also acquired for world sales ACID selection “Most People Die On Sundays” by feature debutant director lair Said. Their current sales lineup includes Berlinale winners “The Great Yawn of History” and “Faruk”; Locarno and Palm Springs winner “Sweet Dreams”; Radu Jude’s Locarno winner “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World”; Karlovy Vary winner “Blaga’s Lessons”; and Sundance winner “And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine.”