Mk2 Films is expanding its prestigious film library with the acquisition of Denis Freyd’s production company Archipel 35, as well as movies by two-time Palme d’Or-winning directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne from their company Les Films du Fleuve. The deal brings 43 titles to a collection that now includes more than 1,000 films, including cult movies by Charlie Chaplin, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Abbas Kiarostami. Its contemporary filmmakers include Justine Triet, Jafar Panahi, Joachim Trier, Céline Sciamma and Andrey Zvyagintsev.
At the heart of the acquisition are 20 films directed by the Dardennes, two of the most celebrated European filmmakers of the past three decades. Starting with titles including “The Promise” and “Rosetta,” the Belgian brothers have developed a body of work weaving social and political themes and focusing on young people, poverty and hardship. The Dardennes are part of a very small group of filmmakers to have won the Palme d’Or twice, for “Rosetta” in 1999 and “The Child” in 2005.
They also won the Grand Prize for “The Kid With a Bike” in 2011 and best director for “Young Ahmed” in 2019. In 2025, 26 years after their first Palme d’Or, they returned to competition with “Young Mothers” and won the best screenplay prize. Alongside the Dardennes, the catalogue boasts films by 18 European and international directors, among them Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Bamako,” Pierre Schoeller’s “The Minister,” Pascale Ferran’s “Bird People,” Delphine and Muriel Coulin’s “17 Girls” and “The Stopover,” Ursula Meier’s “Home” and “Sister,” Laurent Cantet’s “The Workshop” and Patricia Mazuy’s “Saint-Cyr,” starring Isabelle Huppert.
It is not simply a collection of prestigious titles: there is a very strong editorial identity running through it — filmmakers looking closely at society, politics, work and human relationships, while remaining deeply personal in their approach,” said Frederique Rouault, head of collections at mk2 Films. Together, the 43 films have sold nearly seven million tickets in France, according to mk2 Films. Rouault said that theatrical track record makes the acquisition particularly valuable commercially.
The strongest catalogue films often have both. The Dardenne brothers are two-time Palme d’Or winners, but the films produced through their company Les Films du Fleuve, together with those in the Archipel 35 catalogue, have also accumulated almost seven million admissions in France,” she said. Headed by Nathanael and Elisha Karmitz, the Paris-based group has grown its library alongside its cinema exhibition and production businesses.
This year, the outfit is behind Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur,” France’s submission for the international feature Oscar, which won the Grand Prize at Cannes. It was one of 11 films presented by mk2 Films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The move comes as older titles are finding new commercial opportunities internationally, driven by theatrical re-releases, festivals, streaming platforms and restored editions.
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