Winning a Golden Lion at Venice may not be a guarantee of success, but it certainly helps
When Tran Anh Hung's Cyclo rode off with the Golden Lion last year, international sales went into freewheel. On the success of Tran's previous feature, The Scent of Green Papaya, sales company Lumiere had already sold the Franco-Hong Kong production to UK, Swedish, Asian and Australian distributors. But as Cyclo gathered momentum with a coveted competition slot, both North America and The Netherlands hitched a ride. And once the votes were in, it was downhill all the way through the Middle East, South America and the rest of Europe.
For distributors such as Canada's CFP International, which released Cyclo in North America this month, winning Venice gave the essentially art-house film an enviable kick-start at the box-office. 'The Golden Lion adds cachet and boosts initial impact,' explains vp US distribution, Adam Rogers. 'It focuses press attention and we used it on posters, trailers and ads. The current US gross is US$200,000, and we haven't even screened in New York yet.'
After the initial impact, however, the film stands or falls on its own. Says Anne Daval, assistant producer at Cyclo's Paris-based co-producers, Lazennec Productions: 'The Golden Lion guarantees press coverage, but it doesn't guarantee good reviews. Cyclo didn't always get them.'
In Germany, excellent reviews boosted performance, says Daval. Distributors ProKino recorded a healthy 47,000 admissions after a November release. But in Italy Cyclo received mixed notices, taking under US$411,000. The UK press were also lukewarm, with US$31,000 grossed in its first week, but under US$66,000 by the end of the opening month. French critics were singularly unimpressed, which Daval believes seriously hampered exploitation after two weeks. Still screening at at least one Paris theatre, Cyclo recorded almost 30% of its total box-office in its opening week last September.
But, of course, there is always the prize itself. 'Winning the Golden Lion was very important to the actual filmmakers,' maintains Daval. 'Whatever happens to a film at the box-office, it is a very prestigious prize.'
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