Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #53. Petite fleur – Santiago Mitre

Published on January 2, 2020

Petite fleur

Argentina’s Santiago Mitre moves forward on his third feature, Petite fleur (Little Flower), adapted from Pequena Flor by Iosi Havilio. The French co-pro, produced by Maneki Films, stars Daniel Hendler, Louis Garrel, Vimala Pons (Elle, 2016) and Sergi Lopez. The project was part of the 2019 Berlin co-production market. Mitre won the Critics Week Grand Prize in 2015 for his debut Paulina, and returned to Cannes two years later with the ensemble piece The Summit in Un Certain Regard.

Gist: Jose has recently settled in France from Argentina. One night, he befriends his neighbor, Jean-Claude. But Jose is triggered upon hearing Sidney Bichet’s “Little Flower,” and the night ends tragically. However, the next morning tells a different story.

Release Date/Prediction: Mitre is scheduled to begin principal photography on Petite fleur in January 2020, shooting in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and in the Puy-de-Dome in Clermont-Ferrand. While Cannes has heretofore been his platform, his latest looks to be a Fall 2020 premiere, with either Venice or TIFF’s Platform likely to make a selection.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.