Charades Boards Import, a Basketball Drama Shot in Belgrade
Summary
Paul Shkordoff's debut, developed at TorinoFilmLab's ScriptLab and co-written by Murina writer Frank Graziano, launches sales at AFM.
"Paris-based Charades has boarded international sales on Import, the debut feature of Canadian director Paul Shkordoff, and will launch it at the American Film Market next month, Variety reported on October 27. The film is in post-production.
Shkordoff co-wrote the script with Frank Graziano, co-writer of the 2021 Caméra d'Or winner Murina, after developing it at TorinoFilmLab's ScriptLab in 2022. The story follows Danny Ingram, a former high school prospect who hides an injury after moving to Eastern Europe to play professional basketball and takes a job from Nima, a Syrian nurse who cares for migrants. Professional player Jawaun Daniels stars with Alexis Manenti and Mouna Soualem.
The Canadian-led co-production with France and Serbia was shot in Belgrade with EuroLeague club KK Partizan, which appears in the film. Jason Aita, Emily Harris and Metafilms' Rosalie Chicoine Perreault produce, with backing from Telefilm Canada, Eurimages, the CNC's Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, SODEC and Ontario Creates. Shkordoff's 2020 short Benjamin, Benny, Ben competed for the Palme d'Or for shorts at Cannes."
