Le Pacte Lands North American Deal for Italy's Oscar Entry The Spiral

Le Pacte has secured a North American distribution deal and international sales for Paolo Strippoli's horror-thriller The Spiral, Italy's submission for the best international feature Oscar. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the agreements, which include a commitment to a U.S. theatrical release. Le Pacte puts the film's Italian box office at $3.8 million.

Le Pacte's North American Deal and Territory Sales

The North American distributor's identity will be announced at a later date, and Le Pacte said the agreement could be extended to additional territories. Vertigo Releasing acquired the film for the U.K. and Ireland, MFA+ FilmDistribution took Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and La Aventura Cine picked up Spain. Vertigo Releasing acquired the U.K. theatrical rights to the British coming-of-age comedy The State of Us, Yahoo reported on October 19, 2026.

Other European buyers include Aurora Films for Poland, Pris Audiovisuais for Portugal, ABCinema for Greece, Independenta Film for Romania, MCF Megacom Film for the Balkans, Bestfilm.eu for the Baltics and Beta Film for Bulgaria. Pancinema acquired South Korea, Palace Films took Australia and New Zealand, Bir Film picked up Turkey and VR Films acquired India and the SAARC region. California Filmes bought Latin America, while Russian Report took Russia and CIS territories.

Known in Italy as L'Estranea, the film stars Jasmine Trinca as a mother whose desire to protect her family draws her into a Faustian pact with a mysterious woman played by Bruni Tedeschi. Romana Maggiora Vergano and Adriano Giannini also star. In his Venice review, THR chief film critic David Rooney called the film "juicy entertainment that ought to travel well," praising its lead performances and Strippoli's stylish direction.

The sales follow a festival run that began with the film's world premiere in competition at Venice, followed by a North American premiere in Toronto's Midnight Madness section, where it was first runner-up for the People's Choice Midnight Madness Award. At Sitges, Trinca won best actress and the film received the Silver Méliès for best fantastic genre feature. It also won Chicago's Silver Hugo for best visual effects, with further stops at Fantastic Fest, Busan and Thessaloniki.

Le Pacte puts the film's Italian box office at $3.8 million, with more than 460,000 admissions since its October 8 release through 01 Distribution. The sales company is also handling French distribution, while Paradiso Filmed Entertainment is releasing it in Benelux. Strippoli directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Salvatore De Chirico. The Italian-French-Belgian production was produced by Marina Marzotto and Mattia Oddone for Propaganda Italia, in collaboration with Rai Cinema and with co-production partners Kazak Productions in France, Tarantula in Belgium and Dinamo Film in Italy.

Le Pacte's Festival Slate and Sales Record

Le Pacte had 9 films selected for Cannes 2026 across Competition, Hors Compétition and Quinzaine des Cinéastes, according to akta.pro company records, the largest single-festival footprint in its disclosed history. The same records show the company secured the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2026 with Cristian Mungiu's Fjord. In May 2026, Le Pacte co-produced La Bola Negra with Movistar Plus+, El Deseo and Suma Content Films, securing Goodfellas as international sales agent after a 20-minute Cannes standing ovation. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Paris.