Paris– Bac Films is launching sales on a duo of promising French movies, “Ava” and “The Teacher” at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris, Variety said.

Starring French newcomer Noée Abita, “Ava” tells the tale of a young woman who finds out she is condemned to gradually lose her sight while spending her summer vacation at a beach resort. While her mother Maud has vowed to make Ava’s month of holidays an unforgettable experience, Ava decides to take a another route, stealing a black dog on the beach to keep her company.

Gilles Sousa, head of international sales at Bac Films, described “Ava” as being “in the vein of Thomas Cailley’s ‘Love at First Fight’ for its unusual pitch, fresh tone and the breakthrough performance of its lead actress, Abita.”

Like “Love at First Fight,” “Ava” also marks the directorial debut for Léa Mysius, a talented screenwriter who last teamed with Arnaud Desplechin on the script of “Ismael’s Ghosts.” An emerging filmmaker, Mysius also co-directed the short “Les Oiseaux-Tonnerre” which played at Cannes’ Cinefondation.

Filmed in Southwestern France, “Ava” also boasts a well-polished cinematography and carries a beautiful message of freedom, pointed out Sousa.

F Comme Film and Trois Brigands Productions is producing “Ava.”

Olivier Ayache-Vidal’s “The Teacher,” meanwhile, is a high-concept drama-comedy starring critically-acclaimed actor Denis Podalydes (“Chocolat”) as a bourgeois professor working at Henry IV, a prestigious French high-school, who gets relocated to a high-school in a though under-priviledged suburb.

Rather than a classic social drama, “The Teacher” centers on the unexpected and heartwarming bond that forms between this professor and a troubled student.

“‘The Teacher’ is a film about friendship that also deals with real societal problems,” said Sousa.

Sombrero Films and Atelier de Production is producing “The Teacher.” Bac Films will show a promo of the movie at Berlin.

Both “Ava” and “The Teacher” are in post. Bac Films will show promos at Berlin.

Bac Films’s Berlin slate will include Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s stylish western “Let The Corpses Tan,” Nadège Loiseau’s “A Bun in the Oven,” Paolo Virzi’s “The Leisure Seeker,” Babak Jalali’s “Land” and David Freyne’s “The Third Wave.”

Bac Films will unveil the anticipated promo of “The Leisure Seeker” at Berlin. Sony Pictures Classics has rights to the film.