SK+TE’KMUJUE’KATIK (AT THE PLACE OF GHOSTS) by Bretten Hannam is premiering at Toronto International Film Festival 2025. Producer Marc Tetreault participated with the project in the ACE 33 Annual Programme.

Mise’l and Ante have drifted apart in adulthood, but are forced to reunite when a supernatural presence they thought was long-buried threatens them and their loved ones. As they set off on a journey through an ancient forest rich with Mi’kmaq history, the past, present and future collide.

How did the ACE Annual Programme benefit you as a producer, and your ACE project?
When I joined the ACE Annual Programme, SK+TE’KMUJUE’KATIK was already fairly developed. We found a great co-producer in Diana Elbaum (ACE Belgium), and financing was largely in place. My goals for participating in the ACE Annual Programme was mainly to refine the creative vision.

The Content Development Workshop in Oslo, Norway was an important moment for me. Working with our script consultant and the other producers helped me realise that although the story is deeply rooted in North American history, and specifically around First Nation experiences, it was also a universal story that would resonate with international audiences. This creative input was valuable for the project and it was interesting to hear the European perspectives on the project.

The financing plan of the project didn’t change drastically during the workshop, but it had a huge impact on how I approach future work, and made me realise co-productions are not only financial collaborations, but also make for stronger and more meaningful films.

What was the most challenging part in getting this film from script to screen?
Interestingly, the financing of SK+TE’KMUJUE’KATIK came together relatively smooth, which is often not the case. The production and post-production were more challenging.

We shot almost entirely in remote forests, which was beautiful but logistically very difficult. The biggest challenge in the project came in the edit. This was by far the longest and most complex post-production I’ve ever been part of. With the footage, we could have made many different films, and after months of editing, we felt lost and didn’t agree on what the film was anymore.

At that time, we brought in a new editor from Belgium, who wasn’t involved until that time and brought a new perspective on the film, which was exactly what we needed. It took a while for everyone to align, but eventually we did, and we are excited that we will present it at TIFF now, following by screenings at BFI London Film Festival and at our home turf at Atlantic International Film Festival in Halifax.

What’s ahead for you and your company? What are you currently working on?
The ACE Annual Programme has changed how I look at co-producing, and that’s directly shaped our strategy at Shut Up & Colour Pictures.

We are currently in post-production on a low-budget Christmas horror movie, and have a UK/Canada co-production greenlit to shoot early next year: ODDLY FLOWERS. I actually found my partners for this project through a consultant I met at the Financing Strategies Workshop of the ACE Annual Programme.

We also have an Australia/Canada co-production that seems like it is financed for the same period.

Although we didn’t find a project yet, I would love to collaborate with any of my fellow ACE 33 producers. We build strong and long term relations during the programme, and I’m sure we will work together in the future.

GRAND CIEL by Akihiro Hata is premiering on 5 September during the 82nd Venice Film Festival. Producer Clément Duboin (ACE France) participated in the ACE 29 Annual Programme, and discussed the development of the project and the benefits of the workshop with us.

Vincent works the night shift on the construction site of a futuristic district. When a worker goes missing, Vincent and his colleagues begin to suspect that their superiors are covering up an accident. But soon, another worker disappears.

How did the ACE Annual Programme benefit you as a producer, and your ACE project?
ACE 29 was a truly unique edition, as the COVID-19 pandemic made it the longest ACE Annual Programme to date. We were able to have Content Development Workshop and Financing Strategies Workshop in the fall of 2019, before the lockdown, but had to wait until November 2021 for the Business Prospects Workshop.

By then, our outlook on company sustainability, growth, and management had shifted significantly, which made that final workshop especially engaging and refreshing, both personally and as a group.

For my project as well, the workshop has been decisive. From the initial feedback from my peers and consultants, the diverse perspectives they shared, to the ongoing mutual support we’ve maintained on each other’s projects.

What was the most challenging in getting this film from script to the screen?
The development and financing of GRAND CIEL took time and were inevitably slowed down by the pandemic. Within just a few months, the industry and the market had changed dramatically, and by the time we were ready to secure financing, the landscape was no longer the same as when we first initiated the project.

As an ambitious first feature, both arthouse and genre-blending, the project became a riskier bet after the pandemic than it had been before. At one point, we even considered scaling down our ambitions, but doing so would have compromised the very essence and uniqueness of the film.

Complicating matters further, during our initial preparation we faced difficulties securing our main shooting location—a massive construction site at night. This forced us to postpone filming for a year, reorganize our financing and production strategy, and ultimately bring the project together thanks to a decisive, organic co-production with long-time friend and ACE member Gilles Chanial (ACE Luxembourg) of Les Films Fauves.

What’s ahead for you and your company? What are you currently working on?
Beyond GRAND CIEL, we are completing Ulrich Köhler’s new film GAVAGAI, a co-production with Ingmar Trost (ACE Germany) from Sutor Kolonko, which will premiere in the Main Slate of the New York Film Festival at the end of September. With the same ACE partner, we are also in post-production on Ilian Metev’s new film PLATEAU, a German–Bulgarian–French co-production.

Together with Gilles from Les Films Fauves again, we are currently financing another project by a Japanese director based in Paris—an adaptation of a French comic book set in Japan, co-written by Yuki Kawamura and Raphaëlle Desplechin, and to be directed by Yuki Kawamura.

Alongside Akihiro Hata, writer-director of GRAND CIEL, we are also developing the TV series THE TREE (ACE Series Special 6), as well as a new feature film project.

PALME D’OR 
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT by Jafar Panahi
Produced by Philippe Martin (ACE France) and David Thion (ACE France)

GRAND PRIX – COMPETITION
SENTIMENTAL VALUE by Joachim Trier
Produced by Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (ACE Norway)
Co-produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE Germany), Janine Jackowski (ACE Germany)

JOINT JURY PRIZE – COMPETITION
SIRAT by Olivier Laxe
Produced by Mani Mortazavi (ACE France)

BEST DIRECTOR  – COMPETITION
THE SECRET AGENT by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Co-produced by Leontine Petit & Erik Glijnis (ACE The Netherlands)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS – COMPETITION
Nadia Melliti for
LA PETITE DERNIÈRE by Hafsia Herzi
Produced by Julie Billy (ACE France)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR- COMPETITION
Wagner Moura for
THE SECRET AGENT by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Co-produced by Leontine Petit & Erik Glijnis (ACE The Netherlands)

FIPRESCI AWARD – COMPETITION
THE SECRET AGENT by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Co-produced by Leontine Petit & Erik Glijnis (ACE The Netherlands)

UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZE
THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO by Diego Céspedes
Co-produced by Jakob D. Weydemann (ACE Germany)

BEST DIRECTOR – UN CERTAIN REGARD
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA by Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser
Co-produced by Dorothe Beinemeier (ACE Germany)

BEST ACTRESS – UN CERTAIN REGARD
Cleo Diára for
O RISO E A FACA by Pedro Pinho
Produced by Filipa Reis (ACE Portugal)
Co-produced by Radu Stancu (ACE Romania)

BEST SCREENPLAY – UN CERTAIN REGARD
PILLION by Harry Lighton
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE Ireland)

SPECIAL MENTION CAMERA D’OR – UN CERTAIN REGARD
MY FATHER’S SHADOW by Akinola Davies Jr.
Executive produced by Ed Guiney (ACE Ireland)

QUEER PALM
LA PETITE DERNIÈRE by Hafsia Herzi
Produced by Julie Billy (ACE France)

AFCAE AWARD
THE SECRET AGENT by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Co-produced by Leontine Petit & Erik Glijnis (ACE The Netherlands)

CST AWARD FOR BEST ARTIST-TECHICIAN
Ruben Impens and Stéphane Thiébaut for
ALPHA by Julia Ducournau
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE Belgium)

PALM DOG
Panda for
THE LOVE THAT REMAINS by Hlynur Pálmason
Produced by Anton Máni Svansson (ACE Iceland)
Co-produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE Denmark)
Developed during the ACE 33 Annual Programme

COMPETITION

ALPHA by Julia Ducournau
Co-produced by Jean-Yves Roubin (ACE Belgium)

DOSSIER 137 by Dominik Moll
Produced by Carole Scotta (ACE France)

EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC by Tarik Saleh
Co-produced by Monica Hellström (ACE Denmark)
and Misha Jaari (ACE Finland)

THE HISTORY OF SOUND by Oliver Hermanus
Co-produced by Giovanni Pompili (ACE Italy)

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT by Jafar Panahi
Produced by Philippe Martin (ACE France) and David Thion (ACE France)

LA PETITE DERNIÈRE by Hafsia Herzi
Produced by Julie Billy (ACE France)

RENOIR by Chie Hayakawa
Produced by Fran Borgia (ACE Singapore)

THE SECRET AGENT by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Co-produced by Leontine Petit & Erik Glijnis (ACE The Netherlands)

SENTIMENTAL VALUE by Joachim Trier
Produced by Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (ACE Norway)
Co-produced by Jonas Dornbach (ACE Germany), Janine Jackowski (ACE Germany)

SIRAT by Olivier Laxe
Produced by Mani Mortazavi (ACE France)

TWO PROSECUTORS by Sergei Loznitsa
Co-produced by Viola Fügen (ACE Germany) and Alise Gelze (ACE Latvia)

CANNES PREMIERES

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOSEF MENGELE by Kirill Serebrennikov
Co-produced by Hernán Musaluppi (ACE Argentina)

THE LOVE THAT REMAINS by Hlynur Pálmason
Produced by Anton Máni Svansson (ACE Iceland)
Co-produced by Eva Jakobsen (ACE Denmark)
Developed during the ACE 33 Annual Programme

UN CERTAIN REGARD

CARAVAN by Zuzana Kirchnerová
Co-produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina (ACE Italy)

MY FATHER’S SHADOW by Akinola Davies Jr.
Executive produced by Ed Guiney (ACE Ireland)

THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO by Diego Céspedes
Co-produced by Jakob D. Weydemann (ACE Germany)

O RISO E A FACA by Pedro Pinho
Produced by Filipa Reis (ACE Portugal)
Co-produced by Radu Stancu (ACE Romania)

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA by Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser
Co-produced by Dorothe Beinemeier (ACE Germany)

A PALE VIEW OF HILLS by Kei Ishikawa
Co-produced by Mariusz Włodarski (ACE Poland)

PILLION by Harry Lighton
Produced by Ed Guiney (ACE Ireland)

SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE

REEDLAND by Sven Bresser
Produced by Marleen Slot (ACE The Netherlands)
Co-produced by Dries Phlypo (ACE Belgium)

SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE – SHORTS

ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG by Lili Koss
Produced by Vanya Rainova (ACE Bulgaria)

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT

PEAK EVERYTHING by Anne Émond
Produced by Sylvain Corbeil (ACE Canada)

YES! by Nadav Lapid
Co-produced by Janine Teerling (ACE Cyprus) and
Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski (ACE Germany)

OUT OF COMPETITION

THE RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD by Thierry Klifa
Co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart (ACE Belgium)

BRIDES by Nadia Fall premiered during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Producer Nicky Bentham (ACE United Kingdom) brought the project to the ACE 31 Annual Programme, where she met fellow producer Marica Stocchi (ACE Italy), and they produced the film together. ACE sat down with them to discuss their journey from their meeting in the workshop, until the premiere at Sundance.

Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their lives in the UK with a dangerous plan of travelling to Syria.

How are you looking back at the premiere during Sundance earlier this year?
The premiere in Sundance was great! It’s such an amazing festival for filmmakers, they were very supportive and welcoming to us, and the film was received very well! So that was lovely.

On the ‘friend’ side, it was wonderful to experience the film together with the team. Nicky found a house where we were staying in with 10 women, who all worked on the film, and we lived together for almost one week. We shared so many nice moments together during the festival and the premiere, but also at the house in the mornings and evenings, or even eating a pasta at night together.

How did the ACE Annual Programme benefit you as a producer, and your ACE project?
The ACE Annual Programme played a pivotal role in the realisation of Brides. Nicky applied with the project for the workshop, as she knew she had to shoot a part of the film aboard and wanted to investigate all options for this. Soon after the start of the programme, after meeting Marica, Nicky quickly identified that Italy could possibly be a sensible option. During the Financing Strategies Workshop, we’re asked to present a few different financing plans, but she didn’t really find anything that would work as well as Italy. Marica also responded very strongly to the material and the project, so already very early, it seemed like a natural fit.

Our group of producers in the workshop was so wonderful, we learned a lot from each other. It’s just as much give as there is take, which is very valuable. Nicky knew that there was no way to make this project on her own, so the camaraderie and reciprocity of the group was very important to her.

Nicky really came to the ACE Annual Programme to define the finance strategy. There was already a strong script, and although the international perspectives on it by fellow participants and consultants were important, the film was already there. But, during the workshop, Nicky could really explore the financing opportunities with European co-producers and investigate which options would be the most viable.

Also important to note is that we met our sales agent Bankside during the workshop. They were present for the Financing Strategies Workshop and approached us afterwards to collaborate. So, every step of the workshop was a big success to us.

What was the most challenging in getting this film from script to the screen?
Bringing this film to life was far from easy, there were many challenges like shooting a low budget film in three countries, but these felt like things that we had in our control.

The most challenging was the financing the project from the UK and Italy. It is very challenging for European countries to work with the UK, as the two systems are very different. In a financing plan it works, but if you compare the financing and legal frameworks of the UK and Italy, they are not compatible. So, on paper, it wouldn’t really work, and perhaps the co-production wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t between Nicky and Marica, because there was a click between us from the beginning, and Marica responded so strongly to the project from the first pitch.

There were moments when it all felt so precarious that it could collapse, hitting a dead end, or something didn’t work out or fell through. We also really needed each other for support and to drag each other through these times.

Also meeting each other in a workshop like the Annual Programme helped, as we could really get to know each other during the three different sessions. It would have been difficult to take this leap of faith without knowing each other this well.

What’s ahead for you and your company? What are you currently working on?
Basically, we are contacted daily about co-productions between Italy and the UK, from Italian or UK producers with a project, or producers who want to be introduced to Nicky or Marica. That’s like a full-time job now.

Nicky and Marica are now developing a new project with the same writer and director team, set in Rome, so we hope our collaboration will continue. Now that we know we can do it, we want to do it more often! It was too much of a success and such a stress to not do it again.

Marica is participating in the ACE Animation Special, so now she has done all the programmes ACE has to offer. She previously participated in the ACE Leadership Special, and the Series Special. The series she developed was on air last year, and we’re currently working on the second season.