FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2016

Cinema Guild acquires Cannes favorite THE DEATH OF LOUIS XIV starring French New Wave legend Jean-Pierre Léaud

NEW YORK, NY— Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of all U.S. distribution rights to Albert Serra's magnificent new film The Death of Louis XIV starring French New Wave legend Jean-Pierre Léaud. The film premiered as an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival, where Jean-Pierre Léaud was awarded the Honorary Palme d'Or, fifty seven years after his first appearance at the prestigious film festival at age 14 in Francois Truffaut’s 400 Blows. Cinema Guild will release The Death of Louis XIV theatrically in early 2017.

Versailles, August 1715. After going for a walk, Louis XIV (Jean-Pierre Léaud) feels a pain in his leg. The next days, the Sun King fulfills his duties and obligations, but he has trouble sleeping. A serious fever erupts, which marks the start of the slow agony of the greatest King of France. Surrounded by doctors and family, he struggles to run the country from his bed. Based on extensive medical records and the memoirs of the Duke of Saint-Simon and other courtiers, The Death of Louis XIV is a magistral, neoclassical chamber drama, a work of pure magic.

"Following Don Quixote, the Three Kings, Dracula and Casanova, Albert Serra transmutes another great icon. We simply can’t wait to share this luminous and witty cinematic achievement that will dazzle audiences around the country," commented Blandine Mercier-McGovern.

"Capricci, an international auteur label, has worked with Albert Serra since the presentation of his first feature at Cannes in 2006. Following the Locarno Golden Leopard in 2013 for Story of my Death, the official selection of The Death of Louis XIV at the Cannes Festival recognizes a new apex in this decade long collaboration. We are very glad to have Cinema Guild distributing the film in the USA because we share the same idea of cinema and defend the same auteurs," commented Julien Rejl of Capricci Films.

The deal was negotiated by Blandine Mercier-McGovern of Cinema Guild with Julien Rejl of Capricci Films.

Cinema Guild is a premier distributor of independent, foreign and documentary films, whose upcoming releases include Mehrdad Oskouei's Starless Dreams. Recent theatrical releases include Jem Cohen's Counting, Asghar Farhadi's About Elly, Lisandro Alonso's Jauja, and Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France.

For press inquiries, please contact us at:

(212) 685-6242 or press at cinemaguild dot com

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