Just a day before the Cannes film festival kicks off, the Cohen Media Group has swooped on French thriller My Son for North American distribution, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

Starring Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) and Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), the recently-completed film comes from the writer-director of Oscar-nominated Joyeux Noel, Christian Carion, and is screening in the Cannes market.

My Son focuses on a husband and wife as they face the crisis of their lives. Julien (Canet) travels constantly for work, and his perpetual absence from home has wrecked his marriage. During a stopover in France, he gets a message from his distraught ex-wife (Laurent): Mathys, their seven-year-old, has disappeared. Julien begins the search for his son – and will stop at nothing to get him back.

"Following our success with [previous Carion release] Come What May we are delighted to continue our close relationship with Christian Carion," said Cohen chairman and CEO Charles Cohen.

“I'm really happy to work again with Cohen's crew," added Carion. "They love cinema and do a great job to support their movies in North America."