Art house movie streaming service Mubi has acquired Lukas Dhont’s Cannes Film Festival competition title Close for the U.K., Ireland, Latin America, Turkey and India.
Starring Lea Drucker (Custody), Émilie Dequenne (Our Children), Kevin Janssens (Revenge) and newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele, Close will get its world premiere at Cannes late on Thursday.
Mubi said the film would be released theatrically, followed by an exclusive Mubi streaming release. Girl, Dhont’s debut feature film, won the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 2018.
Close is about “the intense friendship between two 13-year old boys,” Léo and Rémi, that “suddenly gets disrupted,” according to a plot description. “Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi’s mother.”
The Match Factory is handling international sales and negotiated the deal with Mubi.
Upcoming and recent releases from the streamer include Park Chan-wook’s Cannes competition entry Decision to Leave, Léa Mysius’s Director’s Fortnight title The Five Devils, Thomas Hardiman’s Medusa Deluxe, Joachim Trier’s Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated The Worst Person in the World, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s best international feature film Oscar winner Drive My Car and Julia Ducournau’s 2021 Palme d’Or winner Titane. Mubi’s co-production One Fine Morning from director Mia Hansen-Løve has also premiered during the Directors’ Fortnight program in Cannes.