Venice Days competition title The Indies gets sales deal
Barcelona-based MoreThan Films has acquired world sales rights to the Venice Days competition title “The Indies” (“Les Indes”), a period road movie by first-time feature directors Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier. The true-events-inspired film premieres in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori, boosting festival buzz and international sales prospects.
Key Takeaways
- MoreThan Films boarded “Les Indes” (“The Indies”) ahead of its Venice Days premiere.
- Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier make their feature debut with the period road movie.
- Spain’s Lastor Media and Switzerland’s Alina Film produce the 1652-set story inspired by true events.
- Switzerland’s Sister Distribution has picked up the film; it was shown as a work in progress at ECAM Forum.
Who boarded the Venice Days competition title?
According to Variety, Barcelona-based world sales company MoreThan Films has acquired the period road movie ahead of its premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate Degli Autori (Venice Days).
Queralt Pons Serra, managing partner of MoreThan Films, said the film captivated the company by turning a historical episode into a contemporary reflection on power, images, and our relationship with the natural world. Fellow managing partner Lidia Damatto noted that “Les Indes” marks the firm’s second collaboration with Alina Film, after the Locarno breakout “Hanami” in 2024.
What is The Indies about?
Inspired by true events and set in 1652, “Les Indes” follows Alejandro (Théo Urtubey), a young Spanish nobleman tasked with two French soldiers—played by Raphaël Thiéry and Lazare Minoungou—to deliver a portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa, daughter of King Philip IV, to the young king of France, Louis XIV. The mission aims to help seal a fragile alliance between the two countries.
The journey crosses a Europe marked by wars and uprisings, heading toward Versailles as the Middle Ages give way to modernity. In a statement, Julier and Chapoulier described a century in which science, rationalism, and commerce rise, popular uprisings erupt under taxation and poverty, and the roads of “Les Indes” map tensions between the old world and a new order.
Why does this sales deal matter now?
A Venice Days berth puts first-feature filmmakers and their Spanish-Swiss producing partners—Lastor Media (“Alcarràs”) and Alina Film (“The Currents”)—in a high-visibility arthouse window. World sales representation from MoreThan Films is designed to convert that festival heat into territorial deals beyond Switzerland, where Sister Distribution recently picked up the film.
The project was presented as a work in progress at this year’s ECAM Forum co-production market in Madrid, signaling how market exposure has already fed into distribution and sales momentum. For readers tracking festival-to-platform pipelines, more industry alerts live in our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.
Pons Serra framed the film as using history as a lens on the origins of today’s world, citing bold visual language and meditative storytelling. Damatto added that MoreThan Films is glad to keep working with producers who deliver strong arthouse projects and share a collaborative market approach.