Wayna Pitch Swoops on French Rights for Marie-Elsa Sgualdo’s Debut Feature ‘Silent Rebellion,’ Acquired by Imovision for Brazil (Exclusive)

Exploring the life of an unyielding teen who defies conventional traditions, Swiss director Marie-Elsa Sgualdo (“On the Beach”) points to the confluence of apathy and tempered resistance in her debut feature “Silent Rebellion” ( À bras-le-corps”), which premiered in Venice and has been picked up by Wayna Pitch for France, with Imovision pouncing on rights for Brazil.

Produced by Elena Tatti and Nicolas Wittwer at Switzerland’s Box Productions (“Home”), which will release the film in Switzerland in February 2026, and co-produced by Julie Esparbes at Belgium’s Hélicotronc (“Dalva”) and Emmanuelle Latourrette and Fabrice Préel-Cléach at France’s Offshore (“Naufragi”), the film looks to the past to assess the present.

Its narrative follows 15-year-old Emma (Lila Gueneau) as she endeavors to fulfil her dreams of becoming a nurse after rape by a bourgeois journalist leaves her pregnant. Amidst the judgement of her Protestant village, she attempts to carve out an uncertain…