Author: rb809rb

Epic Pictures Group has taken international sales right for upcoming feature “The Marshall,” starring Oscar nominee Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist”), and will launch the film at this year’s Marche du Film in Cannes.

From director Andrew Baird (“Zone 414,” “One Way,” “Sunrise”) and written by Jay Thames, “The Marshal” — which recently wrapped production — is described as a “taut, modern conspiracy thriller rooted in moral ambiguity and high-stakes action.” It also marks the third collaboration between Pearce and director Baird, following “Zone 414” (2021) and “Sunrise” (2024).

The film follows Iraq War veteran Clay Mercer (Pearce), an elite marksman for the U.S. Marshals whose life unravels after a single shot at a presidential rally destroys his career. Years later, drawn into a covert network of operatives and manipulated through a web of corruption, Clay must decide whether to become the weapon he was shaped to be or dismantle the system from within.

Alongside Pearce, an ensemble cast includes Bruce Greenwood (“Star Trek,” “Dark Winds”), Kaniehtiio Horn (“Possessor,” “Mohawk”), Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (“Vikings: Valhalla”), Navid Negahban (“Homeland”), Jaylen Moore (“Six”), Joel Thomas Hynes (“Orphan Black”), Gina La Piana (“The Night Driver”) and Anthony Del Negro (“Ladybug,” “Edge of Everything”).

“I’m thrilled to be working with my friend Andrew Baird once again, especially on this gripping piece by Jay Thames,” said Pearce. “Since L.A. Confidential, I’ve been drawn to stories that explore the fragile and often contradictory nature of truth, and the opportunity to navigate the layered intrigue of ‘The Marshal’ has been genuinely electrifying.”

Added Baird: “What drew me to ‘The Marshal’ was how timely it is in today’s current political climate, while still delivering a tightly wound, pressure-cooker conspiracy thriller. Guy is one of cinema’s great actors, and it’s a privilege to collaborate with him again.”

The international sales agreement was negotiated by Alan B. Bursteen, president of Milestone Studios, with Patrick Ewald, CEO of Epic Pictures.

“The Marshal represents exactly the kind of bold, high-concept storytelling that resonates with global audiences,” said Ewald, who also exec produces. “With Guy Pearce and Andrew Baird reuniting, we’re excited to bring this gripping thriller to buyers at Cannes.”

‘The Marshal’ is produced by Kevin Matusow for Traveling Picture Show Company, Jay Thames for 77 Films and Rob and Peter Blackie for Elemental Pictures. The film is co-produced by Michael Solomon with Patrick Ewald, and Katie Page serving as executive producers. Additional EP’s include Kate Bacon, Mark S. Batzel, Lee Broda, Carissa Buffel, Alan B. Bursteen and Dawn Bursteen of Milestone Studios, Bryan Coyne, James Cullen Bressack, Bruce Cummings, Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Michael J. Moss, Jr., and Jeffrey M. Silverman.

Epic’s recently appointed president of sales and content Caroline Couret-Delègue will represent ‘The Marshal’ as part of the company’s Cannes sales slate at its space at the Grand Hotel Residences.

Tribeny Rai’s debut feature “Shape of Momo” claimed the Grand Jury Prize for best feature at the 24th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

“We are honored to award the Grand Jury Prize to a debut film that deftly creates a protagonist who inhabits the gray area between righteousness and humility, and delicately charts her journey through the complexities of class and gender in a place steeped in tradition,” the feature jury stated.

The feature jury – composed of cinematographer Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi, filmmaker Juan Pablo González and film curator Caroline Libresco – also awarded honorable mentions to Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s “Lali” and Seemab Gul’s “Ghost School.” Of “Lali,” jurors said: “Moving between genres with ease and exuberance, this film envelopes the audience in a vibrant symphony of music and color.” On “Ghost School,” the jury called it “a beautifully restrained, artistically precise debut feature that works both as a powerful political allegory and as piercing social realism.”

The Grand Jury Prize for best short went to “Room at the Farm,” directed by Jasmine Kaur Roy and Avinash Roy. “A delicate and nuanced allegory of the fragility of human relationships when faced with the impact of modernization. This film represents rural Punjab with a gaze rarely seen, one that centralizes humanity and desire. Over the course of 23 succinct minutes, it allows us to negotiate a devastating reality alongside its characters,” the shorts jury said.

Shorts honorable mentions went to Ananth Subramaniam’s “Bleat!” and Sana Zahra Jafri’s “Permanent Guest.” The shorts jury – film curator Malin Kan and filmmaker Alisha Tejpal – described “Bleat!” as “an absurdist commentary that throws into question our understanding of religion, gender and cultural identity with a profoundly original vision and a strikingly unexpected approach.” Of “Permanent Guest,” jurors noted the film “has crafted immense tension and finds both power and pain in what is left unsaid.”

Voted on by festival attendees, the Audience Choice Award for best feature went to Ben Rekhi and Swetlana’s “Breaking the Code” – which also opened the festival – while Suraj Paudel’s “Rihanna” won the Audience Choice Award for best short.

At IFFLA Industry Days, Amarik Singh Khosa’s project “Blind Tiger” won the Launchpad: Pitch Competition and received a $10,000 development grant. A prestige crime series set in suburban New Jersey, it centers on a highly skilled outsider whose story draws on the overlooked history of a minority community, grounding a classically structured genre drama in a perspective rarely seen on screen. An honorable mention went to Priyanka Krishnan and Raman Nimmala’s “Thottal Poo Malarum” (Flowers Bloom When Touched), a dark comedy about a woman whose carefully constructed path to an elite arranged marriage begins to unravel around questions of virtue and social performance.

The 24th IFFLA – a leading U.S. platform for South Asian cinema – featured 27 films across seven narrative features, two documentary features and 18 shorts, with entries from countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Japan, Malaysia, the U.K. and the U.S. The festival closed with Anusha Rizvi’s social satire “The Great Shamsuddin Family.”