Another hot American Film Market package being unveiled today: Jessica Chastain will play a troubled artist in comedy-drama Losing Clementine. Argentine filmmaker Lucía Puenzo has been enlisted to helm the feature, which Sierra/Affinity will be shopping at the Santa Monica market this week.
As we revealed last year, Sentient Entertainment’s Renee Tab picked up feature rights to Ashley Ream’s debut novel of the same name and brought Better Call Saul writer and producer Ann Cherkis onboard to adapt the screenplay.
Pic follows world-renowned and sharp-tongued artist Clementine Pritchard (Chastain) who has decided she’s done. After flushing away her meds, she gives herself 31 days to tie up loose ends. While checking off her bucket list she uncovers secrets about her family and the tragedy that befell her mother and sister.
Sentient president Tab, who recently exec produced the Jennifer Garner thriller Peppermint, developed, packaged, raised finance and will now produce the project with her partner Christopher Tuffin alongside Freckle Films’ Chastain and Kelly Carmichael.
Jeeny and Michael Miller of Miller Way will serve as executive producers alongside Sentient’s Jake Martin and Maryam Lieberman, and Ann Cherkis. CAA Media Finance also helped arrange finance and is repping domestic distribution rights.
Chastain starred in It Chapter Two this year. She has Universal spy thriller 355 and Fox biopic The Eyes Of Tammy Faye alongside Andrew Garfield coming up.
Director Puenzo’s credits include 2017 Spanish-language sci-fi thriller The Unseen, 2009 drama The Fish Child, which premiered at the Berlinale and was nominated for nine Argentine Academy Awards, as well as 2007 Spanish-language drama XXY and 2013 historical drama The German Doctor, which both played at Cannes. She also has multiple series in development at Apple, Amazon, and Showtime. Sentient is backed by Italia Film, which includes a first look distribution deal for their territories (including the Middle East, Turkey, India, Greece and a range of other countries).
Chastain is represented by CAA, manager Paul Nelson of Mosaic and attorneys Steve Warren and Barry Littman of Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.
Puenzo was represented in the deal by ICM and is also managed by Sentient. Ream by APA and Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Cherkis by WME, manager Margaret Riley of Lighthouse and attorney David Matlof of Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman. Sentient was represented in the deals by attorney Kevin Mills of Kaye & Mills.
