Altitude Picks Up ‘The Florida Project’ & ‘Loveless’ For UK – Cannes

Deals in Cannes are already starting to trickle through. Altitude Film Distribution has picked up UK and Irish distribution rights to Sean Baker’s coming-of-age drama The Florida Project and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes competition title Loveless.

The Florida Project, directed by Baker and co-written with frequent collaborator Chris Bergoch, is premiering in Directors’ Fortnight here in Cannes. Protagonist Pictures is shopping the pic, which stars Willem Dafoe, Caleb Landry Jones and newcomers Brooklynn Prince and Bria Vinaite in the story about a precocious six-year-old and her rag-tag group of close friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.

Baker, Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri and Shih Ching Tsou  produce the title. Altitude plans to release in the UK in early 2018.

Loveless is Zvyagintsev’s third Cannes competition entry. His pic Leviathan won best screenplay in the festival’s competition and later was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Loveless is produced by long-time producing partner Alexander Rodnyansky. Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the film in the U.S. Wild Bunch is handling international sales.