Mubi has acquired North American and U.K. rights for director Léa Mysius’ drama “The Five Devils” ahead of its premiere in the Directors Fortnight section of this month’s Cannes Film Festival.
The film follows newcomer Sally Dramé as a strange and solitary girl named Vicky with the magical gift of being able to reproduce and bottle any scent she finds — including that of her mother, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”). When her father’s sister (Swala Emati) suddenly reappears in their conservative Alpine village, Vicki finds that reproducing her aunt’s smell helps unlock a series of memories as well as secrets about her village and her family.
Mysius’ first feature, “Ava,” premiered at Cannes in the Critics’ Week section in 2017, where it won the SACD (Authors Society) prize. Her writing credits also include “Farewell to the Night” and “Paris, 13th District,” as well as Claire Denis’ upcoming “Stars at Noon.”
Mubi plans a theatrical release along with a streaming rollout in the U.S. and the U.K. and Ireland.
The art-house streaming platform and distributor previously acquired Park Chan-wook’s official competition entry “Decision to Leave” as became a co-producer last year of Mia Hansen-Løve’s “One Fine Morning,” which is also screening in the Directors’ Fortnight.