French actress Ariane Labed, who won the best actress award at Venice for Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Attenberg,” has boarded “The Possessed,” the third feature from Bosnian-Dutch writer-director Ena Sendijarević. The film will mark Sendijarević’s English-language debut and is expected to round out its international cast in the coming months.
Since breaking out with “Attenberg,” Labed has carved out a reputation as one of Europe’s most distinctive screen presences. Her credits include collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos on “Alps” and “The Lobster,” Philippe Grandrieux on “Malgré la nuit,” Justin Kurzel on “Assassin’s Creed,” and Lucie Borleteau on “Fidelio l’odyssée d’Alice,” for which she won the best actress award at the Locarno Film Festival and was nominated for a best upcoming César Award. Other film credits include Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight,” Garth Davis’ “Mary Magdalene,” and “The Souvenir” and “The Souvenir Part II,” directed by Joanna Hogg.
“The Possessed” is set in 17th-century Europe, where two women fleeing the witch hunts create a refuge at the edge of the world, until a man becomes their unwilling captive and sparks a dangerous love triangle.
Sendijarević broke out internationally with her idiosyncratic feature debut “Take Me Somewhere Nice” (2019), which was selected for ACID Cannes and won the Special Jury Prize at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. She previously attracted attention with her short “Import” (2016), which premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and was the Dutch entry to the Oscars.
Her second feature film, “Sweet Dreams” (2023), premiered in Locarno’s main competition and won the Pardo for best performance, and was once more the Netherlands official submission to the Oscars. In 2024 she was selected as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch and one of IndieWire’s 17 Female Directors to Watch.
“I have followed and been inspired by Ariane Labed’s work for more than a decade, and I consider her one of Europe’s most daring and singular actresses. This project has a bold concept that will demand fearless performances, and so it is both an honor and a great excitement to bring Ariane into the fold for ‘The Possessed,’” said Sendijarević.
The film is produced by Layla Meijman and Maarten van der Ven (Studio Ruba), in co-production with Sendijarević (Eklips), Miriam Porté (Distinto Film) and Martien Vlietman (VPRO). Amra Bakšić Čamo (SCCA/pro.ba) serves as associate producer. Financing comes from the Netherlands Film Fund, COBO, ICEC, Creative Europe MEDIA and Uniqa.
The project was previously presented at Les Arcs and CineMart.
Labed is represented by United Agents and Agence Adequat.
English (US) ·