The Indies lands with MoreThan Films before Venice Days premiere
MoreThan Films has taken world sales on The Indies, a 1652 road movie headed to Venice Days after an ECAM Forum showcase.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
“The Indies” MoreThan Films deal puts the Barcelona-based world sales company behind a period road movie headed for the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate Degli Autori, also known as Venice Days, Variety reported.
The film, titled “Les Indes” in French, is co-written and directed by Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier, both making their first feature, according to Variety. MoreThan Films acquired the project ahead of its Venice Days premiere.
Produced by Spain’s Lastor Media, whose credits include “Alcarràs,” and Switzerland’s Alina Film, whose credits include “The Currents,” the movie is inspired by true events, Variety reported.
What is The Indies about?
Set in 1652, “The Indies” follows Alejandro, a young Spanish nobleman played by Théo Urtubey, as he travels with two French soldiers played by Raphaël Thiéry and Lazare Minoungou. Their mission is to carry a portrait of Maria Theresa, the infanta of Spain and daughter of King Philip IV, to France’s young king, Louis XIV.
According to Variety, the delivery is meant to help secure a fragile alliance between Spain and France. The journey takes the three men across a Europe battered by wars and revolts, with Versailles as their destination.
Venice Days is an independent section running alongside the Venice Film Festival, often used as a launchpad for international auteur films. For a sales company, boarding a title before that kind of premiere means it can present the film to distributors as festival attention begins.
Why MoreThan Films took it on
Queralt Pons Serra, managing partner of MoreThan Films, said in a statement reported by Variety that the film drew the company in by turning a historical incident into a present-day reflection on power, images and humanity’s relationship with nature.
Pons Serra also said Julier and Chapoulier use the past to look at the roots of the world people live in now, citing the film’s visual approach and reflective storytelling as reasons it fit the company’s slate.
Lidia Damatto, also a managing partner at MoreThan Films, said the film continues the company’s relationship with Alina Film. She noted that MoreThan previously worked with Alina on Denise Fernandes’ “Hanami,” described by Variety as a Locarno breakout in 2024.
Damatto said the company was pleased to keep working with producers Eugenia Mumenthaler and David Epiney, pointing to their shared approach to collaboration and the arthouse market, according to Variety.
How history shapes the film
Julier and Chapoulier described the film’s 17th-century setting as a moment when medieval structures were giving way to science, rationalism and commerce, according to their statement reported by Variety.
The filmmakers said Galileo’s discoveries, the rise of mercantilism and pressure from taxation and poverty form the historical terrain behind the story. In their view, the film unfolds along roads where an older order meets the forces that would shape the modern world.
Before its Venice Days slot, “The Indies” was shown as a work in progress at the ECAM Forum co-production market in Madrid, Variety reported. The film has also recently been acquired by Switzerland’s Sister Distribution.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.