Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Gilles Bourdos' "Renoir," a love story about painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, his son, film director Jean Renoir, and the young woman who inspired them both.
The film was acquired at Cannes, where it will screen as the closing-night attraction in the Un Certain Regard section.
Goldwyn plans a spring 2013 release.
“I was captivated by the script from the first page and cannot wait to bring this film to American audiences," said Goldwyn's senior vice president of acquisitions, Peter Goldwyn, in a press release announcing the deal. "Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s work speaks for itself – he is one of the most gifted painters the world has ever seen while his son Jean is one of the most important filmmakers of our time. We feel extremely fortunate to bring such indelible icons to life.”
Based on a true story and starring Michel Bouquet, Vincent Rottiers and Christa Theret, "Renoir" is set on the French Riviera in 1915, after Pierre-Auguste Renoir had lost his wife and his son had been wounded in battle in World War I. A young woman named Andrée becomes the painter's last model, and also inspires the recovering Jean Renoir to become a filmmaker.
The deal was negotiated by Goldwyn's Ian Puente and Wild Bunch's Carole Baraton and Antoine Zylberberg.
