The French comedy “Welcome to the Sticks” has broken so many box-office records in France this year that it is about to overtake “Titanic” as the highest-grossing film in French history.
Zilber says that even though no one wants to distribute the film itself, he’s in negotiations with several U.S.-based film companies for the American remake rights to the film. In fact, the most salable aspect of “Lost Islands” is its comic story line. So actually, the more commercial the movie is in Israel, the less commercial it would be in America.” the cinephiles, the people who want serious drama. “Non-English-speaking films are geared to a very specific audience in the U.S. “The movies that sell well overseas - and this is true if they are from France or Iran as well as from Israel - are the ones that have soft or delicate subject matter, a serious theme that would appeal to the U.S.
In fact, being a big comedy hit in Israel probably makes “Lost Islands” a harder sell than if it were a small, thoughtful adult drama. distributors are far more interested in serious, art-house dramas than in popular comedies. So why wouldn’t anyone want Israel’s biggest hit? Zilber isn’t entirely sure himself, but he offers an intriguing theory: When it comes to foreign imports, U.S. Filmmaking in Israel has been in something of a renaissance, with a number of recent films, notably “Waltz With Bashir,” “The Band’s Visit” and “Beaufort” (the last of which Zilber produced) all playing the American art-house circuit, earning rave reviews and doing respectable business for foreign imports.