Locarno Coming-Of-Age Drama ‘Astrakan’ Lands North American Deal

EXCLUSIVE: Altered Innocence has picked up all North American rights to the Locarno competition title Astrakan, the debut feature from filmmaker David Depesseville.

The pic will screen at New Directors / New Films, MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual film festival and is being prepped for a Summer 2023 theatrical release.

Altered Innocence describes the film as a coming-of-age tale about “adoption, first love, and family secrets,” with an unexpected formal left turn.

The full synopsis reads: Samuel is a wild-looking twelve-year-old orphan who has been placed with a nanny, Marie, for several weeks. Marie, who is struggling between her feelings and her need for money, is married to Clément, with whom she has two sons, Alexis and Dimitri. Very quickly, Samuel will have to get to know this new family and their possible secrets.

Depesseville has described the film as “an impressionistic chronicle of that preadolescent age where one is mainly submerged in permanent feelings.”

“The power of the evocation matters most to me,” Depesseville added.

The deal was negotiated between Frank Jaffe from Altered Innocence and Félicie Roger from Tamara Films.

“As a specialist in coming-of-age films, it’s rare to see a film that dives into the genre with such a unique eye as David has done here,” Jaffe said.

“The film feels like a dream until a thunderous finale makes you wake up and question everything that came before. I’m thrilled for American art-house audiences to drink in young Samuel’s unique journey and experience this film for themselves.”