Mother Teresa films in Cannes market

Three films of different genres on the saint of Kolkata are on show for buyers, writes Saibal Chatterjee.

Nearly eight years after her death and 18 months following her beatification by the Pope, Mother Teresa is enjoying a strong posthumous presence at the market of the 58th Cannes Film Festival. As many three films of different genres on the saint of Kolkata are on show for prospective buyers.

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A full-length animation film on her life and times, a $12 million Italian biopic featuring 52-year-old Buenos Aires-born British actress Olivia Hussey in the role of the Mother and an Indian documentary-feature directed by the Los Angeles-based Gautam Das are jostling for space and distribution deals in the crowded Cannes Film Market.

The full-length animation film, titled Mother Teresa, is being promoted in Cannes by Italy's Mondo TV. The film, which has already had several screenings in the market, has elicited a strong response from buyers, according to a spokesperson of the company. The film relates the story of Mother Teresa especially for younger audiences.

The Italian screen biography, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, is by far the biggest of the three films on offer. It was originally a two-part television film. "The running time was 180 minutes," reveals Fabio Furiani, sales and distribution manager of the film's international agents, Blue Star Movies. "The film has now been reduced to 114 minutes and blown up for the big screen."

Strangely, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, directed by Fabrizio Costa, was made without any major Indian participation. It was shot entirely on location in Sri Lanka because, in Furiani's words, "it was easier securing permissions there". It was moreover felt that crowds in Colombo would be easier to control than those in Kolkata.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta has been sold to Indovision Films for distribution in India. "It should be opening pretty shortly on the subcontinent," says Furiani. He reveals that the film has already been released in South Korea to an extremely strong audience response. "It has also been picked up by a distributor in Japan," he adds.

Olivia Hussey's portrayal of Mother Teresa has been approved by members of the Missionaries of Charity when the film was especially screened for them in Italy. Blue Star Movies, headquartered in London, has offices in Rome and Milan and has been involved in the production of films like the recent Merchant of Venice.

The Beatification of Mother Teresa, a 90-minute documentary-feature produced by the Mumbai-based Percept Picture Company, is being promoted at the Cannes Film Festival by Sahara One. The film, according to the company's officials here, has aroused a fair bit of interest.

"We have received offers from buyers in North and South America, Europe and many parts of Asia," announces Sandeep Bhargava, CEO of Sahara One.

The Indian film contains never-before-seen footage of Mother Teresa's beatification ceremony, which was presided over by John Paul II in October 2003. It also features interviews with Monica Basra, whose miraculous cure at the hands of Mother Teresa speeded up her canonization, and Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, who has been associated with the work of the saint's order ever since coming into personal contact with her.

Says Bhargava: "We will release The Beatification of Mother Teresa in Indian theatres as soon as the international deals are closed. Our country has a Catholic population big enough to help the film to work.