As the 2014 Cannes market closed its doors on Thursday, many sellers qualified this year’s film fair as ‘quiet’ and independent distributors as ‘conservative’. This was reflected in the scarcity of deal-making that emerged from the market. However major sales were concluded on the Nordic festival films Force Majeure (pictured) and The Salvation.
Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure (pictured) received a standing ovation at its world premiere at Un Certain Regard and sales agent Coproduction Office closed deals with Lumiere for Benelux, Look Now for Switzerland, Arthaus for Norway, Øst for Paradis for Denmark and Must Käsi for the Baltic countries. TriArt will release it in the autumn in Sweden.
The Salvation received an equally positive reaction from its Midnight Screening in Cannes and was sold to North America by TrustNordisk. “Kristina Levring has assembled an incredible cast and created a classic western that keeps you on the edge of your seat”, said Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films. Earlier deals had been closed with Benelux (Wild Bunch), Australia/New Zealand (Madman Entertainment), France (Chrysalis/Jour2fête), Greece (Hollywood Entertainment) and Estonia (Estin Film). The film opened yesterday in Denmark under Nordisk Film’s banner.
The Critic’s Week selected When Animal Dreams by Danish first timer Jonas Alexander Arnby was also praised by the media in Cannes such as the Danish newspaper Berlingske that gave it five (out of six) stars while the trade publication Hollywood Reporter said:” This polished Danish thriller about a sensitive female werewolf is full of restrained horror and tastefully Scandinavian carnage”. France’s Gaumont International has already sold the film to Radius/TWC for the US. The Danish release handled by Nordisk Film is set for July 31, 2014.
Commenting on the market, The Yellow Affair’s CEO Miira Paasilinna said that buyers were ‘conservative’ and that the market felt quieter than previous years. The sales executive said many distributors came to watch the promo of Mika Kaurismäki’s English language The Girl King and they are in negotiations regarding several territories.
The hottest title on the Yellow Affair’s line up was Dome Karukoski’s Heart of a Lion that sold to German speaking territories (I-One), Italy (Ripley’s Film), France and Benelux (Jupiter Communications), Portugal/Angola (Legendmain Filmes) and Latvia (Rija Films). “Dome is a name that sells and people follow his steps”, noted Paasilinna.