Divines Among Netflix’s Cannes Film Festival Acquisitions

AMSTERDAM: Divines, a critically acclaimed French drama from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is one of several titles slated to launch on Netflix around the globe.

Set in a ghetto near Paris, Divines follows Dounia, a young woman who enters into a life of crime with her friend in an attempt to gain money and power. Dounia’s life takes a surprising turn when she meets a young dancer. The Caméra d’Or winner, which stars Oulaya Amamra, marks the directorial debut of Houda Benyamina. It will become available to Netflix members worldwide, excluding France, later this year. The title will launch on the service in France in 2019.

“We saw Divines before it was award-winning, praised by critics and received a standing ovation at Cannes; we immediately recognized it as an extraordinary film and acquired it early on,” said Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer at Netflix. “We’re passionate about bringing our members great films from around the world and thrilled to bring Benyamina’s debut film to our members.”

Benyamina added: “Emotions bring people together and are a reflection of society. Thanks to Netflix, Divines will cross borders and the world will be able to enjoy this universal story of love and friendship. I am very happy with the collaboration with Netflix.”

Another one of Netflix’s acquisitions from the Cannes Film Festival is Wheelman, which stars Frank Grillo and is directed by Jeremy Rush. That film will make its global premiere on Netflix next year. There is also Mercenary (Mercenaire), from French director Sacha Wolff. Other titles headed to the service include Aquarius, a drama from Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho; The Day Will Come, a Danish drama directed by Jesper Nielsen; Very Big Shot, from Lebanese director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya; Journey to Greenland, a French comedy directed by Sébastien Betbeder; and Raman Raghav 2.0, an Indian thriller from director Anurag Kashyap. Additional titles are currently being negotiated.