Estonia Building on ‘Tenet’ Momentum to Attract International Productions, Build Local Film Industry
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For the global film industry, Tenet put Estonia on the map.
Christopher Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi epic shot several key scenes in the tiny eastern European nation, including the opening raid on the “Kyiv Opera House” (actually city hall in the Estonia capital Tallinn) and the show-stopping high-speed car chase on Tallinn’s Laagna Tee highway. The Warner Bros. production — which took advantage of Estonia’s generous 30 percent cash rebate for local spend — was proof positive that Estonia could both attract and service the biggest movies out there.
Building on this momentum, the country has begun planning on a major film studio campus and soundstage complex, Tallinn Film Wonderland, construction of which will begin next year. The first phase, set for completion by 2024, will see the building of three soundstages of 14,000 square feet, 8,900 square feet and 5,400 square feet, with a height of up to 46 feet,...
For the global film industry, Tenet put Estonia on the map.
Christopher Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi epic shot several key scenes in the tiny eastern European nation, including the opening raid on the “Kyiv Opera House” (actually city hall in the Estonia capital Tallinn) and the show-stopping high-speed car chase on Tallinn’s Laagna Tee highway. The Warner Bros. production — which took advantage of Estonia’s generous 30 percent cash rebate for local spend — was proof positive that Estonia could both attract and service the biggest movies out there.
Building on this momentum, the country has begun planning on a major film studio campus and soundstage complex, Tallinn Film Wonderland, construction of which will begin next year. The first phase, set for completion by 2024, will see the building of three soundstages of 14,000 square feet, 8,900 square feet and 5,400 square feet, with a height of up to 46 feet,...
- 12/5/2022
- by Stjepan Hundic
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway: Scandinavia has always made a good show of films in all festivals, but this is the first time in 17 years a Swedish film has been in Competition.
“The Square” is the first Swedish film in Competition in 17 years! Winner of the Palme D’or and the Vulcain Prize for an artist technician awarded by the C.S.T. Director Ruben Östlund attracted producers from Sweden, Germany, France and Denmark to tell this tale of the successful curator of a modern art museum who lives in the epicenter of the art community and takes his work very seriously. A few days before the opening of the prestigious exhibition The Square he is mugged, which he can neither shake off or let pass unnoticed. He embarks on a hunt for the perpetrator and ends up in situations that turn steadily more amusing, and make him question his own moral compass.
“The Square” is the first Swedish film in Competition in 17 years! Winner of the Palme D’or and the Vulcain Prize for an artist technician awarded by the C.S.T. Director Ruben Östlund attracted producers from Sweden, Germany, France and Denmark to tell this tale of the successful curator of a modern art museum who lives in the epicenter of the art community and takes his work very seriously. A few days before the opening of the prestigious exhibition The Square he is mugged, which he can neither shake off or let pass unnoticed. He embarks on a hunt for the perpetrator and ends up in situations that turn steadily more amusing, and make him question his own moral compass.
- 6/6/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
“Resistance” the story of the famed mime Marcel Marceau and how he learned to mime in order to survive and to save the lives of Jewish orphans in World War II France, written and to be directed by “Hands of Stone” director Jonathan Jakubowicz and produced by Claudine Jakubowicz and Carlos Garcia de Paredes, will star the curly haired and fast talking Jesse Eisenberg who played Mark Zuckerberg in the 2010 film “The Social Network”. Baptiste Marceau, the oldest son of Marcel, has been closely involved in the research for this European coproduction that CAA is packaging and representing in Cannes. Marceau the artist of silence gave his first major performance to 3,000 American troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944.
Michael Jackson and Marcel Marceau
The producers of last year’s Norwegian hit, “The Wave”, have turned their attention to Marius Holst’s “Betrayed”, the story of the Norwegian Jews...
Michael Jackson and Marcel Marceau
The producers of last year’s Norwegian hit, “The Wave”, have turned their attention to Marius Holst’s “Betrayed”, the story of the Norwegian Jews...
- 6/5/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Film i Vast launches title at Cannes slate presentation.
Christoffer Boe, who won the Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2003 with Reconstruction, will direct Zentropa’s fourth and final instalment in the Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q thriller series.
The Purity Of Vengeance starts shooting in December and will again star Nikolai Lie Kass and Fares Fares as the mismatched detectives.
Nikolai Arcel, Bo Hr. Hansen and Mikkel Norgaard wrote the script. Nordisk will release theatrically in autumn 2018 and TrustNordisk handles sales.
The previous three films in the series – starting with The Keeper Of Lost Causes [pictured] – have been record-setting hits in Denmark. Producer Louise Vesth of Zentropa said, “there have been 2.2m million tickets sold for these films in Denmark, I hope the fourth one will be an ever greater success.”
The story centres on the discovery of a series of corpses connected to an old women’s institution that carried out medical experiments.
Boe, speaking...
Christoffer Boe, who won the Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2003 with Reconstruction, will direct Zentropa’s fourth and final instalment in the Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q thriller series.
The Purity Of Vengeance starts shooting in December and will again star Nikolai Lie Kass and Fares Fares as the mismatched detectives.
Nikolai Arcel, Bo Hr. Hansen and Mikkel Norgaard wrote the script. Nordisk will release theatrically in autumn 2018 and TrustNordisk handles sales.
The previous three films in the series – starting with The Keeper Of Lost Causes [pictured] – have been record-setting hits in Denmark. Producer Louise Vesth of Zentropa said, “there have been 2.2m million tickets sold for these films in Denmark, I hope the fourth one will be an ever greater success.”
The story centres on the discovery of a series of corpses connected to an old women’s institution that carried out medical experiments.
Boe, speaking...
- 5/21/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The harrowing story of Joshua French, the Norwegian-British solider released this week after eight years in a Congolese prison, is getting the big-screen treatment.
Marius Holst (Cross My Heart – And Hope to Die) will direct Congo, which Headhunters producer Friland Film will produce. TrustNordisk has picked up international sales rights for the project and is shopping it to buyers in Cannes.
French and fellow ex-soldier Tjostolv Moland went to Congo with the ambitious plan to set up a private security firm in Africa. But in 2009 they were arrested on suspicion of killing their Congolese driver. They claimed to have...
Marius Holst (Cross My Heart – And Hope to Die) will direct Congo, which Headhunters producer Friland Film will produce. TrustNordisk has picked up international sales rights for the project and is shopping it to buyers in Cannes.
French and fellow ex-soldier Tjostolv Moland went to Congo with the ambitious plan to set up a private security firm in Africa. But in 2009 they were arrested on suspicion of killing their Congolese driver. They claimed to have...
- 5/20/2017
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: TrustNordisk handling sales on the feature project directed by Marius Holst.
Headhunters producers Friland Produksjon are planning a feature film based on the true story of two Norwegian citizens, Joshua French and Tjostolv Moland, who were sentenced to death in Eastern Congo after the death of their hired driver in 2009.
TrustNordisk will handle sales on the film, titled Congo. Nordisk will release in Scandinavia. Marius Holst will direct and Norwegian reports say that Headhunters star Aksel Hennie (pictured) is set to play French. Nikolaj Frobenius (Insomnia) is writing the script.
The film has been in development for years but could only be announced publicly because French was released from prison this week and returned to Norway on Wednesday. (Moland died in prison.)
Congo is produced by Christian Fredrik Martin and Asle Vatn for Friland in co-production with Nordisk Film, Pandora Film Produktion, Nimbus Film, Garagefilm International and Film Väst in collaboration with Do Productions, with the support...
Headhunters producers Friland Produksjon are planning a feature film based on the true story of two Norwegian citizens, Joshua French and Tjostolv Moland, who were sentenced to death in Eastern Congo after the death of their hired driver in 2009.
TrustNordisk will handle sales on the film, titled Congo. Nordisk will release in Scandinavia. Marius Holst will direct and Norwegian reports say that Headhunters star Aksel Hennie (pictured) is set to play French. Nikolaj Frobenius (Insomnia) is writing the script.
The film has been in development for years but could only be announced publicly because French was released from prison this week and returned to Norway on Wednesday. (Moland died in prison.)
Congo is produced by Christian Fredrik Martin and Asle Vatn for Friland in co-production with Nordisk Film, Pandora Film Produktion, Nimbus Film, Garagefilm International and Film Väst in collaboration with Do Productions, with the support...
- 5/20/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Project illumates a dark chapter in Norwegian history.
The Norwegian Film Institute has allocated $1.4m (Nok 12m) in production funding for Marius Holst’s next film.
Betrayed is a €5.3 million (Nok 49 million) production by Martin Sundland and Are Heidenstrøm for Oslo’s Fantefilm, whose credits include disaster hit The Wave.
Betrayed - set for release in autumn 2019 — is about a dark chapter of Norway’s World War 2 history “that few Norwegians knew or wanted to acknowledge.”
The historical drama will tell the story of hundreds of Norwegian Jews who were rounded up in the middle of the night of 26 November 1942 and taken to Oslo harbour where they were put on a German cargo ship bound for Auschwitz.
“Prior to Marte Michel’s award-winning book, The Ultimate Crime, the way the Jewish society was treated in Norway during WW2, was part of our history that few people knew about. Even fewer were interested in illuminating it. In this movie...
The Norwegian Film Institute has allocated $1.4m (Nok 12m) in production funding for Marius Holst’s next film.
Betrayed is a €5.3 million (Nok 49 million) production by Martin Sundland and Are Heidenstrøm for Oslo’s Fantefilm, whose credits include disaster hit The Wave.
Betrayed - set for release in autumn 2019 — is about a dark chapter of Norway’s World War 2 history “that few Norwegians knew or wanted to acknowledge.”
The historical drama will tell the story of hundreds of Norwegian Jews who were rounded up in the middle of the night of 26 November 1942 and taken to Oslo harbour where they were put on a German cargo ship bound for Auschwitz.
“Prior to Marte Michel’s award-winning book, The Ultimate Crime, the way the Jewish society was treated in Norway during WW2, was part of our history that few people knew about. Even fewer were interested in illuminating it. In this movie...
- 4/28/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Screen reports on the 19 project pitches, including animations, family fare and a Daniel Dencik drama.
The Nordic Co-Production And Finance Market at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films event hosted its project pitches today (August 24).
They included Daniel Dencik’s drama about a disintegrating relationship 1000 R.I.P.; a children’s animation from Norway’s Aleksander Nordaas, the director of festival hit Thale; Icelandic director Marteinn Thorsson’s new psychological thriller; Martin Skovbjerg’s debut feature produced by hot new Danish outfit Snowglobe (who won Locarno’s Golden Leopard with Godless); and a new family film, hand drawn 2D animated Amundsen & Nobile.
Projects from Georgia, Italy and Canada were also included in the 19-strong line-up.
Overview of pitches:
1000 R.I.P., dir Daniel Dencik, prod Michael Haslund-Christensen, Company Haslund/Dencik Entertainment (Den)
The team behind 2015’s Gold Coast reunites for this fable inspired by The Passenger about a couple who meet a half Japanese model in the desert...
The Nordic Co-Production And Finance Market at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films event hosted its project pitches today (August 24).
They included Daniel Dencik’s drama about a disintegrating relationship 1000 R.I.P.; a children’s animation from Norway’s Aleksander Nordaas, the director of festival hit Thale; Icelandic director Marteinn Thorsson’s new psychological thriller; Martin Skovbjerg’s debut feature produced by hot new Danish outfit Snowglobe (who won Locarno’s Golden Leopard with Godless); and a new family film, hand drawn 2D animated Amundsen & Nobile.
Projects from Georgia, Italy and Canada were also included in the 19-strong line-up.
Overview of pitches:
1000 R.I.P., dir Daniel Dencik, prod Michael Haslund-Christensen, Company Haslund/Dencik Entertainment (Den)
The team behind 2015’s Gold Coast reunites for this fable inspired by The Passenger about a couple who meet a half Japanese model in the desert...
- 8/24/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Ewa Puszczynska, a producer on Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winning Ida, is preparing the first feature project of her own new company.
Speaking to ScreenDaily during this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Puszczynska said Lodz-based Extreme Emotions is managed with her daughter Emilia and is in addition to her work as a producer and head of development at Opus Film (Ida).
Puszczynska was at the Polish Days’ pitching session on Thursday (July 30) with Aa, the planned feature film debut by the Israeli-born writer-director Jack Faber, which she has been accompanying in its development for the past 18 months
Based on actual events, the film centres on the last night of a heritage tour in Poland by a group of Israeli high-school students when a prank quickly spins out of control and exposes the violent nature of the young people’s present lives.
Faber had initially started working on the project during his studies at the Netherlands Film Academy...
Speaking to ScreenDaily during this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Puszczynska said Lodz-based Extreme Emotions is managed with her daughter Emilia and is in addition to her work as a producer and head of development at Opus Film (Ida).
Puszczynska was at the Polish Days’ pitching session on Thursday (July 30) with Aa, the planned feature film debut by the Israeli-born writer-director Jack Faber, which she has been accompanying in its development for the past 18 months
Based on actual events, the film centres on the last night of a heritage tour in Poland by a group of Israeli high-school students when a prank quickly spins out of control and exposes the violent nature of the young people’s present lives.
Faber had initially started working on the project during his studies at the Netherlands Film Academy...
- 7/31/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Dr. Jane Roscoe has been recently appointed as the new Director of The London Film School. She will take over from current Director Ben Gibson in August.
Jane Roscoe comes to The London Film School with over 20 years experience as an academic and broadcaster in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. At the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, she launched the Centre for Screen Studies & Research, and led a number of large-scale industry-focussed research projects. She has been Network Programmer at Australia's Sbs Television, and was responsible for launching Sbs Two. More recently, as the UK-based Head of International Content at Sbs, she acquired world feature films in a wide variety of languages, and brokered an impressive slate of international co-productions. She is a regular industry and academic commentator, and has published extensively on screen audiences, documentary and mock documentary.
Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors, said, “Jane is passionate about film education and innovation, and we are delighted that she is to join us to lead Lfs into our exciting new phase."
Jane Roscoe said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Lfs as it approaches its 60th anniversary. The move to the Barbican will further enhance the School's ability to educate for creativity, and stay connected to a fast changing film industry. It's going to be an exciting and challenging journey .”
The London Film School combines its status as a major international conservatoire with its role as one of the two leading British graduate film schools supported by Creative Skillset and the BFI.
At the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, films by Lfs graduates are represented in all the official sections – in Competition, Mr Turner, written and directed by Mike Leigh; In Un Certain Regard, Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras and The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders; in Shorts Competition, Lfs graduation film Leidi, directed by Simón Mesa Soto, one of only nine films chosen from 3,450 short films to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Newton I. Aduaka is one of fifteen directors selected for the tenth edition of the Cinefondation Atelier co-production showcase, with his latest feature Oil on Water. Lfs graduate Aygul Bakanova, who was a participant on the Cannes Residence programme, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight, with the Nordic Film Factory short film Void, co-directed with Milad Alami.
In December, Lfs announced its first major funding from Creative Skillset towards the development of its plans to transfer its operations from Covent Garden to a new site within the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The move is planned for 2016, when the school will also celebrate its 60th birthday.
The London Film School
Founded in 1956, Lfs is one of the world's longest established graduate filmmaking schools. It is constituted as an international conservatoire with 70% of its Ma Filmmaking students coming from outside the UK. The School offers a core 2-year Ma Filmmaking , a 1-year Ma Screenwriting , a 1-year Ma International Film Business and a PhD Film by Practice with the University of Exeter, plus around 50 Continuous Professional Development courses each year as Lfs Workshops .
Lfs has been selected by Creative Skillset, the UK government agency for audio-visual training, as one of three ‘Film Academies’, accredited as a centre of excellence.
Lfs graduates are established in film and television production in more than eighty countries and include Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Duncan Jones, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Horace Ove, Ho Yim, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Brad Anderson, Ann Hui, Marius Holst and Bill Douglas.
In 2013, Lfs films had 232 festival entries across 179 events, winning 43 prizes, nominations or special mentions. The tally breaks Lfs records for global visibility and graduate success. The list covers Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, The London Film Festival, San Francisco, the BAFTAs and the Student Academy Awards.
More info at www.lfs.org.uk
.
Jane Roscoe comes to The London Film School with over 20 years experience as an academic and broadcaster in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. At the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, she launched the Centre for Screen Studies & Research, and led a number of large-scale industry-focussed research projects. She has been Network Programmer at Australia's Sbs Television, and was responsible for launching Sbs Two. More recently, as the UK-based Head of International Content at Sbs, she acquired world feature films in a wide variety of languages, and brokered an impressive slate of international co-productions. She is a regular industry and academic commentator, and has published extensively on screen audiences, documentary and mock documentary.
Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors, said, “Jane is passionate about film education and innovation, and we are delighted that she is to join us to lead Lfs into our exciting new phase."
Jane Roscoe said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Lfs as it approaches its 60th anniversary. The move to the Barbican will further enhance the School's ability to educate for creativity, and stay connected to a fast changing film industry. It's going to be an exciting and challenging journey .”
The London Film School combines its status as a major international conservatoire with its role as one of the two leading British graduate film schools supported by Creative Skillset and the BFI.
At the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, films by Lfs graduates are represented in all the official sections – in Competition, Mr Turner, written and directed by Mike Leigh; In Un Certain Regard, Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras and The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders; in Shorts Competition, Lfs graduation film Leidi, directed by Simón Mesa Soto, one of only nine films chosen from 3,450 short films to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Newton I. Aduaka is one of fifteen directors selected for the tenth edition of the Cinefondation Atelier co-production showcase, with his latest feature Oil on Water. Lfs graduate Aygul Bakanova, who was a participant on the Cannes Residence programme, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight, with the Nordic Film Factory short film Void, co-directed with Milad Alami.
In December, Lfs announced its first major funding from Creative Skillset towards the development of its plans to transfer its operations from Covent Garden to a new site within the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The move is planned for 2016, when the school will also celebrate its 60th birthday.
The London Film School
Founded in 1956, Lfs is one of the world's longest established graduate filmmaking schools. It is constituted as an international conservatoire with 70% of its Ma Filmmaking students coming from outside the UK. The School offers a core 2-year Ma Filmmaking , a 1-year Ma Screenwriting , a 1-year Ma International Film Business and a PhD Film by Practice with the University of Exeter, plus around 50 Continuous Professional Development courses each year as Lfs Workshops .
Lfs has been selected by Creative Skillset, the UK government agency for audio-visual training, as one of three ‘Film Academies’, accredited as a centre of excellence.
Lfs graduates are established in film and television production in more than eighty countries and include Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Duncan Jones, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Horace Ove, Ho Yim, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Brad Anderson, Ann Hui, Marius Holst and Bill Douglas.
In 2013, Lfs films had 232 festival entries across 179 events, winning 43 prizes, nominations or special mentions. The tally breaks Lfs records for global visibility and graduate success. The list covers Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, The London Film Festival, San Francisco, the BAFTAs and the Student Academy Awards.
More info at www.lfs.org.uk
.
- 5/3/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
★★★★☆ Set in the early 20th century on the Norwegian island of Bastoy, a penal colony for young offenders, Marius Holst's hugely absorbing King of Devil's Island (2010) explores themes such as authority, responsibility and friendship. After aggressive, foolhardy inmate (Benjamin Helstad) arrives on the island, disgruntlement begins to brew amongst the child prisoner inhabitants. Meanwhile, another child (Trond Nilssen), who has curried favour with the strict but occasionally sympathetic governor (Stellan Skarsgård), is only a handful of weeks away from release; he dreams of a return to normality having spent almost half of his life on the island.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 11/5/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Dark Horse (15)
(Todd Solondz, 2011, Us) Selma Blair, Jordan Gelber, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow, Justin Bartha, Zachary Booth. 86 mins
Trust Todd Solondz to give us the flipside of movie man-childhood. There's nothing funny or adorable about 35-year-old Abe (Gelber), who lives with his parents, collects action figures and has no idea of his own uselessness. He meets his match (sort of) in the virtually comatose Blair, and what ensues is a romcom that's neither romantic nor comical, but beneath the misanthropy lurks some kind of compassion.
Killer Joe (18)
(William Friedkin, 2011, Us) Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple. 102 mins
Curdling Texan noir and melodrama in a bizarre, curiously fascinating thriller.
The King Of Devil's Island (12A)
(Marius Holst, 2010, Nor/Fra/Swe/Pol) Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad. 116 mins
Prison thriller set on a 1950s Norwegian borstal island.
Storage 24 (15)
(Johannes Roberts, 2012, UK) Noel Clarke, Colin O'Donoghue. 87 mins
Minimal sci-fi thriller set in a London storage unit.
(Todd Solondz, 2011, Us) Selma Blair, Jordan Gelber, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow, Justin Bartha, Zachary Booth. 86 mins
Trust Todd Solondz to give us the flipside of movie man-childhood. There's nothing funny or adorable about 35-year-old Abe (Gelber), who lives with his parents, collects action figures and has no idea of his own uselessness. He meets his match (sort of) in the virtually comatose Blair, and what ensues is a romcom that's neither romantic nor comical, but beneath the misanthropy lurks some kind of compassion.
Killer Joe (18)
(William Friedkin, 2011, Us) Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple. 102 mins
Curdling Texan noir and melodrama in a bizarre, curiously fascinating thriller.
The King Of Devil's Island (12A)
(Marius Holst, 2010, Nor/Fra/Swe/Pol) Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad. 116 mins
Prison thriller set on a 1950s Norwegian borstal island.
Storage 24 (15)
(Johannes Roberts, 2012, UK) Noel Clarke, Colin O'Donoghue. 87 mins
Minimal sci-fi thriller set in a London storage unit.
- 6/29/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
King of Devil’s Island, the Scandinavian thriller by Norwegian director Marius Holst, is being released in the UK on 29th June by Arrow Films. Winner of Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Trond Nilssen) at the Norwegian International Film Festival (2011) and Best Feature Film at Lübeck Nordic Film Days (2011), King of Devil’s Island depicts the violent uprising of a group of young boys against their oppressive guardians. Starring Stellan Skarsgård (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mamma Mia, Angels and Demons, Pirates of the Caribbean, Good Will Hunting), Kirstoffer Joner (Shooting Star), and rising talents Benjamin Helstad (Body Troopers, Angel) and Trond Nilssen, this is a story of hope and friendship in the face of great hardship.
Based on a true story King of Devil’s Island tells the unsettling tale of a group of young delinquents banished to the remote prison of Bastøy. Under the guise of rehabilitation...
Based on a true story King of Devil’s Island tells the unsettling tale of a group of young delinquents banished to the remote prison of Bastøy. Under the guise of rehabilitation...
- 6/28/2012
- by Guest
- Nerdly
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
The interplay between beautiful and sinister imagery defines much of Marius Holst’s haunting Norwegian prison drama King of Devil’s Island. The bleakly perplexing visage of a harpooned whale dying alongside the arrival of two boys into a brutal prison system generates a stirring metaphor that grows only stronger over the film’s course.
Based on the actual 1915 uprising of Norway’s Bastøy Island, we meet new inmates Erling (Benjamin Helstad) and Ivar (Magnus Langlete) as they are initiated by being paraded around naked in front of their fellow prisoners. It creates an antagonistic atmosphere from the outset, one neither governed nor reprimanded by the prison’s ambiguous director, Bestyreren (Stellan Skarsgård). Violent confrontations are evidently endemic to the environment, no different from the majority of prisons worldwide. Disturbingly, those in positions of power, such as caretaker Brathen (Kristoffer Joner), order senior inmates to administer...
The interplay between beautiful and sinister imagery defines much of Marius Holst’s haunting Norwegian prison drama King of Devil’s Island. The bleakly perplexing visage of a harpooned whale dying alongside the arrival of two boys into a brutal prison system generates a stirring metaphor that grows only stronger over the film’s course.
Based on the actual 1915 uprising of Norway’s Bastøy Island, we meet new inmates Erling (Benjamin Helstad) and Ivar (Magnus Langlete) as they are initiated by being paraded around naked in front of their fellow prisoners. It creates an antagonistic atmosphere from the outset, one neither governed nor reprimanded by the prison’s ambiguous director, Bestyreren (Stellan Skarsgård). Violent confrontations are evidently endemic to the environment, no different from the majority of prisons worldwide. Disturbingly, those in positions of power, such as caretaker Brathen (Kristoffer Joner), order senior inmates to administer...
- 6/28/2012
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
★★★★☆ Marius Holst's King of Devil's Island (2010) is a fine example of how even the ugliest and well concealed events of history can be the basis for something profoundly beautiful. Based on real life accounts from Bastoy, an isolated and inaccessible Norwegian reform school for maladjusted young boys (which continued to operate well into the middle of the twentieth century), this tense, Ice steeped thriller is saturated with an overriding atmosphere of human tragedy.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 6/27/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
King Of Devil’S Island
Review by LondonFilmFan
Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner, Trond Nilssen, Morten Løvstad, Daniel Berg | Written by Dennis Magnusson, Eric Schmid | Directed by Marius Holst
Norwegian thriller King of Devil’s Island tells the true story of the country’s Bastøy Island, once utilised as a “home” for maladjusted young men. Directed by Marius Holst, the correctional institution’s harsh conditions are the focus of the film that depicts the level of brutality and oppression that pushed many to their breaking points. Perpetually bleak, but buoyed by stirring and strong performances from its predominately youthful cast, King of Devil’s Island is yet another solid Scandinavian import to hit the UK over the past few years.
Carrying the film is Benjamin Helstad as the rebellious Erling, or C-19 as he is branded by the institution. Little is revealed about Erling’s past as King...
Review by LondonFilmFan
Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner, Trond Nilssen, Morten Løvstad, Daniel Berg | Written by Dennis Magnusson, Eric Schmid | Directed by Marius Holst
Norwegian thriller King of Devil’s Island tells the true story of the country’s Bastøy Island, once utilised as a “home” for maladjusted young men. Directed by Marius Holst, the correctional institution’s harsh conditions are the focus of the film that depicts the level of brutality and oppression that pushed many to their breaking points. Perpetually bleak, but buoyed by stirring and strong performances from its predominately youthful cast, King of Devil’s Island is yet another solid Scandinavian import to hit the UK over the past few years.
Carrying the film is Benjamin Helstad as the rebellious Erling, or C-19 as he is branded by the institution. Little is revealed about Erling’s past as King...
- 6/26/2012
- by Guest
- Nerdly
At the end of each month, the Sound On Sight staff will band together to write an article about their favourite scenes in films released. Here are our favourite scenes from the month of February.
Click here to see January’s releases.
A Separation – Opening scene
A Separation opens with a simple but wonderful stationary shot that quickly sets everything up. The scene features a couple speaking to a divorce councilor about their troubled relationship. In practically breaking the fourth wall the sequence prepares us for the mess of selfish bad decisions wrapped around good indentations that follows; these choices eventually leading to the cause for everything spiraling out of control.
- Ricky D
Chronicle - Space Needle
Chronicle will never be mistaken for an artistic breakthrough, but it is unquestionably endowed with the best special effects this low-budget shaky-cam movie could afford. The effects here (handled by Simon Hansen,...
Click here to see January’s releases.
A Separation – Opening scene
A Separation opens with a simple but wonderful stationary shot that quickly sets everything up. The scene features a couple speaking to a divorce councilor about their troubled relationship. In practically breaking the fourth wall the sequence prepares us for the mess of selfish bad decisions wrapped around good indentations that follows; these choices eventually leading to the cause for everything spiraling out of control.
- Ricky D
Chronicle - Space Needle
Chronicle will never be mistaken for an artistic breakthrough, but it is unquestionably endowed with the best special effects this low-budget shaky-cam movie could afford. The effects here (handled by Simon Hansen,...
- 3/3/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
King Of Devil’s Island
Directed by Marius Holst
Screenplay by Dennis Magnusson
2010, Norway / France / Sweden / Poland
Working on a big budget and starring Stellan Skarsgard, King Of Devil’s Island set box-office records in its homeland when released in 2011. Now the film hits stateside in hopes of taking advantage of the slow winter season.
Set in 1915, the movie is based on the true story of the infamous Bastøy Boys Home correctional facility, a minimum-security prison for young boys, located on Bastøy Island, Norway. The film opens with the arrival of seventeen-year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad), a rumoured murderer who’s determined to break out and who eventually leads the boys to a violent uprising against a brutal regime. In between are many of the conventions of movies about sadistic prisons — There are attempted escapes, cruel punishments, sexual abuse, suicides and any and possibly all the reform school movie tropes you’ve come to know.
Directed by Marius Holst
Screenplay by Dennis Magnusson
2010, Norway / France / Sweden / Poland
Working on a big budget and starring Stellan Skarsgard, King Of Devil’s Island set box-office records in its homeland when released in 2011. Now the film hits stateside in hopes of taking advantage of the slow winter season.
Set in 1915, the movie is based on the true story of the infamous Bastøy Boys Home correctional facility, a minimum-security prison for young boys, located on Bastøy Island, Norway. The film opens with the arrival of seventeen-year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad), a rumoured murderer who’s determined to break out and who eventually leads the boys to a violent uprising against a brutal regime. In between are many of the conventions of movies about sadistic prisons — There are attempted escapes, cruel punishments, sexual abuse, suicides and any and possibly all the reform school movie tropes you’ve come to know.
- 2/13/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
A few minutes into Norwegian director Marius Holst’s “King of Devil’s Island” you can guess the direction the story will go. That isn’t to say the film is bad or boring, it is in fact quite the opposite, but the plot is certainly one you’ve seen numerous times before. Part prison tale, part story of rebellion against a corrupt system, “King of Devil’s Island” follows the time-honored, almost western arc of a new individual coming into an existing situation and indelibly altering the landscape. What keeps the film from becoming stale are the performances, especially by the young cast, and the bonds and emotions they bring to the piece. Bastøy Island is a Norwegian reform school, essentially a juvenile detention facility on an island in the middle of the frigid northern seas. In 1915 things that can get a young man sent to this frozen rock...
- 1/27/2012
- by Brent McKnight
- Beyond Hollywood
The King Of Devil’S Island takes place in 1915 on Bastoy, an island off the coast of Norway that’s sort of an Alcatraz for teenage boys. This wooded island prison, known as a Borstal is in the middle of nowhere, inescapable and grim. As depicted in this engrossing new drama from Norwegian director Marius Holst, it’s one of the most realistic and depressing incantations of hell on earth you’ll ever see, albeit a freezing cold one. The inmates use numbers instead of names, and are forbidden to discuss their past. The sadistic guards heap mental, physical and sexual abuse on them, and instead of the boys being reformed with education they end up being exploited as cheap, manual labor. The King Of Devil’S Island focuses on the two newest residents at Bastoy; Erling (Benjamin Helstad), is a tough older teen who has already spent some time as a sailor,...
- 11/15/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Besides the shorts we and the Chicago International Film Festival are showing for free, there are more than 180 other films in the lineup from 50 countries, with more than 45 films by first-time directors. I'll be gathering notes and links here from coverage of Ciff 47, opening today and running through October 20.
"The festival shows off its Chicago cred with this year's opening-night movie, produced by Steppenwolf Films and shot entirely in our city," writes Ben Kenigsberg, kicking off Time Out Chicago's day-by-day guide to the first week (featuring capsule previews of 70 films). With The Last Rites of Joe May, Joe Maggio "does a credible job with this story of a small-time operator (Dennis Farina) so ineffectual that when he's hospitalized for pneumonia, everyone assumes he's dead. Predictably, he finds redemption caring for a battered single mother and her kid. The movie is watchable, but there's barely a scene in it that's not a cliché.
"The festival shows off its Chicago cred with this year's opening-night movie, produced by Steppenwolf Films and shot entirely in our city," writes Ben Kenigsberg, kicking off Time Out Chicago's day-by-day guide to the first week (featuring capsule previews of 70 films). With The Last Rites of Joe May, Joe Maggio "does a credible job with this story of a small-time operator (Dennis Farina) so ineffectual that when he's hospitalized for pneumonia, everyone assumes he's dead. Predictably, he finds redemption caring for a battered single mother and her kid. The movie is watchable, but there's barely a scene in it that's not a cliché.
- 10/6/2011
- MUBI
Stop if you've heard this before: an overbearing headmaster gets his comeuppance from his students after he pushes them too far, causing a violent uprising and revolt to take place. In literature and in films, variations on this theme have cropped up time and again usually with the same types of characters and signifiers, with the story and pacing playing out to the beat of a very familiar drum. And while on paper, Marius Holst's "The King Of Devil's Island" may seem like a trip down an already well-worn path, the film is a refreshing surprise that offers up a…...
- 7/15/2011
- The Playlist
A group of young inmates fight for their right to freedom.
Marius Holst (Blodsband, Dragonflies) offers another of his youth-centred dramas with the brutal true story of an uprising at a notorious Norwegian borstal. Despite some predictable plot points - sexual abuse, suicide, futile escape attempts - his film distinguishes itself from the likes of Scum and the recent Dog Pound through an impressively mounted period atmosphere and some excellent work from his...
Marius Holst (Blodsband, Dragonflies) offers another of his youth-centred dramas with the brutal true story of an uprising at a notorious Norwegian borstal. Despite some predictable plot points - sexual abuse, suicide, futile escape attempts - his film distinguishes itself from the likes of Scum and the recent Dog Pound through an impressively mounted period atmosphere and some excellent work from his...
- 6/30/2011
- by David Graham
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Last night I had a lovely Scandinavian dinner with friends as we discussed our book club title "The Ice Princess" the latest best seller capitalizing on the super hot Scandinavian crime genre (oh what The Girl With/Who... has wrought!). I didn't like the book at all and the translation seemed clunky (or maybe that was the fault of the original prose?) but I find the whole trend vaguely hilarious since Scandinavian countries, to their vast collective credit, are not exactly known as hotbeds of crime! Returning home, what do I have in my inbox?, but the nominations for Norway's annual "Amanda" Awards. Don't you love unexpected theme days?
Norway had a record breaking year with 34 original films eligible for their own prizes. To give you a very general sense of the amount of films various countries make each year here's a handy graphic AMPAS provided for the films of...
Norway had a record breaking year with 34 original films eligible for their own prizes. To give you a very general sense of the amount of films various countries make each year here's a handy graphic AMPAS provided for the films of...
- 6/23/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Based on a true story, King of Devil’s Island dramatises the 1915 uprising at a correctional facility on Bastøy Island, Norway. Set in the Oslo fjord, the film charts the arrival of alleged murderer Erling (Benjamin Helstad) at Bastøy Boys Home: an unforgiving residence for Norway’s maladjusted youth which prefers numbers to names and forbids talk of the past.
Inducted with fellow offender Ivar (Magnus Langlete), Erling wastes no time in provoking the harsh school governor (Stellan Skarsgard) and coming into conflict with housemaster’s pet and dorm leader Olav (Trond Nilssen). When a teacher is caught sexually assaulting a pupil, however, order gives into chaos as the youths revolt.
Given the scale of the uprising and the infamy of the aftermath from which the film takes its name, it is truly surprising how unhurried director Marius Holst is to realise it onscreen. Instead, Holst conjects a series of...
Inducted with fellow offender Ivar (Magnus Langlete), Erling wastes no time in provoking the harsh school governor (Stellan Skarsgard) and coming into conflict with housemaster’s pet and dorm leader Olav (Trond Nilssen). When a teacher is caught sexually assaulting a pupil, however, order gives into chaos as the youths revolt.
Given the scale of the uprising and the infamy of the aftermath from which the film takes its name, it is truly surprising how unhurried director Marius Holst is to realise it onscreen. Instead, Holst conjects a series of...
- 6/20/2011
- by Steven Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Two more movies today and two more thumbs up: one for Albatross, which I review in full, and another for the Norwegian King of Devil’s Island. An unusual double bill, to be sure, but it matters not; you don’t generally need to be in a certain mood to watch a good movie, it’s supposed to put you in that mood.
Albatross is a British coming-of-age comic drama about two girls with very different outlooks and backgrounds, who come together and bring something out of one another. It was a surprise: a very sweet, funny movie with wonderful central performances. There was nothing particularly new or innovative about the story, but it still comes highly recommended. It is the first movie from director Niall MacCormick and writer Tamzin Rafn, who are clearly talents to keep an eye out for.
There’s an actor in it called Harry Treadaway,...
Albatross is a British coming-of-age comic drama about two girls with very different outlooks and backgrounds, who come together and bring something out of one another. It was a surprise: a very sweet, funny movie with wonderful central performances. There was nothing particularly new or innovative about the story, but it still comes highly recommended. It is the first movie from director Niall MacCormick and writer Tamzin Rafn, who are clearly talents to keep an eye out for.
There’s an actor in it called Harry Treadaway,...
- 6/20/2011
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
“To Be Heard” and “Hot Coffee” win big at Seattle International Film Festival’s awards ceremony today at Seattle’s Space Needle.
See below for the full list of winners and runners-up:
Siff 2011 Competition Awards
Siff 2011 Best New Director
Grand Jury Prize
Gandu, directed by “Q” Kaushik Mukherjee (India, 2010)
Jury Statement: “We chose to give the prize to a movie that bowled us over with its kinetic, brash humor and style-hoping dexterity, a portrait of tortured youth that refreshingly pokes fun at adolescent self-centeredness while simultaneously exploring the anger, despondency and malaise of a generation.”
Siff 2011 Best Documentary
Grand Jury Prize
Hot Coffee, directed by Susan Saladoff (USA, 2011)
Jury Statement: “Going beyond a well-known headline that was the butt of many jokes, Hot Coffee makes dry legal boilerplate spring to life in portraying human dramas with tragic consequences. It makes us all question our simple assumptions – it’s a film that needs to be seen.
See below for the full list of winners and runners-up:
Siff 2011 Competition Awards
Siff 2011 Best New Director
Grand Jury Prize
Gandu, directed by “Q” Kaushik Mukherjee (India, 2010)
Jury Statement: “We chose to give the prize to a movie that bowled us over with its kinetic, brash humor and style-hoping dexterity, a portrait of tortured youth that refreshingly pokes fun at adolescent self-centeredness while simultaneously exploring the anger, despondency and malaise of a generation.”
Siff 2011 Best Documentary
Grand Jury Prize
Hot Coffee, directed by Susan Saladoff (USA, 2011)
Jury Statement: “Going beyond a well-known headline that was the butt of many jokes, Hot Coffee makes dry legal boilerplate spring to life in portraying human dramas with tragic consequences. It makes us all question our simple assumptions – it’s a film that needs to be seen.
- 6/12/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
“To Be Heard” and “Hot Coffee” win big at Seattle International Film Festival’s awards ceremony today at Seattle’s Space Needle.
See below for the full list of winners and runners-up:
Siff 2011 Competition Awards
Siff 2011 Best New Director
Grand Jury Prize
Gandu, directed by “Q” Kaushik Mukherjee (India, 2010)
Jury Statement: “We chose to give the prize to a movie that bowled us over with its kinetic, brash humor and style-hoping dexterity, a portrait of tortured youth that refreshingly pokes fun at adolescent self-centeredness while simultaneously exploring the anger, despondency and malaise of a generation.”
Siff 2011 Best Documentary
Grand Jury Prize
Hot Coffee, directed by Susan Saladoff (USA, 2011)
Jury Statement: “Going beyond a well-known headline that was the butt of many jokes, Hot Coffee makes dry legal boilerplate spring to life in portraying human dramas with tragic consequences. It makes us all question our simple assumptions – it’s a film that needs to be seen.
See below for the full list of winners and runners-up:
Siff 2011 Competition Awards
Siff 2011 Best New Director
Grand Jury Prize
Gandu, directed by “Q” Kaushik Mukherjee (India, 2010)
Jury Statement: “We chose to give the prize to a movie that bowled us over with its kinetic, brash humor and style-hoping dexterity, a portrait of tortured youth that refreshingly pokes fun at adolescent self-centeredness while simultaneously exploring the anger, despondency and malaise of a generation.”
Siff 2011 Best Documentary
Grand Jury Prize
Hot Coffee, directed by Susan Saladoff (USA, 2011)
Jury Statement: “Going beyond a well-known headline that was the butt of many jokes, Hot Coffee makes dry legal boilerplate spring to life in portraying human dramas with tragic consequences. It makes us all question our simple assumptions – it’s a film that needs to be seen.
- 6/12/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Though Marius Holst's King of Devil's Island has already played theatrically in Norway, it seems like we've been waiting for a trailer for months. There may be a Norwegian one kicking around but with the film's recent acquisition by Film Movement, who plan on giving the film a limited theatrical release combined with a VOD release later this year, an English substituted trailer has now emerged.
Based on true events, King of Devil's Island takes place at the early turn of the 20th century on a remote Norwegian island which houses Bastoy, a home for boys. It's a tightly run affair, managed with force and an iron fist by Bestyreren, played by the great Stellan Skarsgard (strange seeing him in a serious role after recently catching him in a comedic turn in Thor), until the arrival of a new inmate who incites a riot against the brutal regime.
The...
Based on true events, King of Devil's Island takes place at the early turn of the 20th century on a remote Norwegian island which houses Bastoy, a home for boys. It's a tightly run affair, managed with force and an iron fist by Bestyreren, played by the great Stellan Skarsgard (strange seeing him in a serious role after recently catching him in a comedic turn in Thor), until the arrival of a new inmate who incites a riot against the brutal regime.
The...
- 5/10/2011
- QuietEarth.us
Film Movement nabbed North American distribution rights to Marius Holst's Norwegian thriller "King of Devil's Island," starring Stellan Skarsgard. The company plans for a limited theatrical release, followed VOD later this year. Below is the full press release: Film Movement Acquires Acclaimed Norwegian Thriller “King Of Devil’S Island” Opening Night Film of Lincoln Center’s New Films from Norway Series to be Distributed Across North America April 26th, 2010 (New York, ...
- 4/26/2011
- Indiewire
King of Devil's Island from Norwegian director Marius Holst with star Stellan Skarsgard in the lead, will open the Goteborg Film Festival which is Sweden's largest film event. The fourth film from Holst makes its international premiere at the festival which opens on January 28th and is a gritty tale based on a true story of a youth detention center uprising near Oslo. The main character is a new arrival who will do anything to escape and encourages inmates to launch a revolt against the sadistic regime. Also in the cast are Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad, Kimmo Rajala, Trond Nilssen and Magnus Langlete...
- 1/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
King of Devil's Island from Norwegian director Marius Holst with star Stellan Skarsgard in the lead, will open the Goteborg Film Festival which is Sweden's largest film event. The fourth film from Holst makes its international premiere at the festival which opens on January 28th and is a gritty tale based on a true story of a youth detention center uprising near Oslo. The main character is a new arrival who will do anything to escape and encourages inmates to launch a revolt against the sadistic regime. Also in the cast are Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad, Kimmo Rajala, Trond Nilssen and Magnus Langlete...
- 1/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The more we see of Marius Holst's King Of Devil's Island the better it looks. With a cast anchored by Stellan Skarsgard and Kristoffer Joner you know the acting is going to be solid and everything else looks absolutely top notch as well. Check the new, English friendly trailer below.
Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of the boys being straightened out with education they end up being used as cheap, manual labor. The boys attempt to survive by adapting to their inhumane conditions. One day a new boy, Erling (17), arrives with his own agenda; how to escape from the island. How far...
Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of the boys being straightened out with education they end up being used as cheap, manual labor. The boys attempt to survive by adapting to their inhumane conditions. One day a new boy, Erling (17), arrives with his own agenda; how to escape from the island. How far...
- 12/9/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Bastoy Prison is an actual correctional facility in Norway and now the island is the setting for an upcoming thriller. In Marius Holst's film, King of Devil's Island, the year is 1915 and over a hundred youths are housed at this remote location. Not liking the conditions much, the young men lead an uprising and take over the island. Stellan Skarsgard and Benjamin Helstad star; this film will release in 2011 and a trailer is below, which was released on some film sites earlier this month (Twitch Films).
The plot line of the film:
"Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of the boys being straightened...
The plot line of the film:
"Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of the boys being straightened...
- 12/1/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
[Updated with English subtitled trailer]
That Stellan Skarsgard and Kristoffer Joner are starring together in upcoming prison drama King of Devil's Island should be reason enough to pay attention to Marius Holst's upcoming picture. But mark my words. If the trailer is to be believed the real driving force of this film - and the titular King - is going to be its young star Benjamin Helstad who, in just his second feature, goes toe to toe with two of the biggest names in the Nordic region without giving up an inch. Here's the official synopsis:
Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20the century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord, live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of teh boys being straightened out...
That Stellan Skarsgard and Kristoffer Joner are starring together in upcoming prison drama King of Devil's Island should be reason enough to pay attention to Marius Holst's upcoming picture. But mark my words. If the trailer is to be believed the real driving force of this film - and the titular King - is going to be its young star Benjamin Helstad who, in just his second feature, goes toe to toe with two of the biggest names in the Nordic region without giving up an inch. Here's the official synopsis:
Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20the century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord, live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of teh boys being straightened out...
- 11/6/2010
- Screen Anarchy
NEW YORK -- Miramax Films and Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment have nabbed U.S. rights to executive producer Scott Rudin's drama "Reprise".
Red Envelope also joined Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group this week to acquire U.S. rights to Lakeshore Entertainment's drama "Elegy", starring Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.
Joachim Trier's "Reprise" centers on the longtime friendship between two young, aspiring novelists (Anders Danielsen and Espen Klouman Hoiner) and the many dramatic twists and turns in their lives. The film won the Discovery Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.
Red Envelope plans promotional campaigns for the theatrical runs of both films before releasing the films as Netflix rentals. "Reprise" opens May 16, and "Elegy" hits theaters in August.
"Reprise" is produced by Spillefilmkompaniet 41/2 and Karin Julsrud in cooperation with the Norwegian Film Institute. Rudin executive produced with Marius Holst, Alain Monne, Hakon Overas, Turid Oversveen, Aagot Skjeldal and Pal Sletaune. "Elegy" was produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Andre Lamal, with Lakeshore's David Dinerstein repping the filmmakers in their deal.
Red Envelope also joined Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group this week to acquire U.S. rights to Lakeshore Entertainment's drama "Elegy", starring Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.
Joachim Trier's "Reprise" centers on the longtime friendship between two young, aspiring novelists (Anders Danielsen and Espen Klouman Hoiner) and the many dramatic twists and turns in their lives. The film won the Discovery Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.
Red Envelope plans promotional campaigns for the theatrical runs of both films before releasing the films as Netflix rentals. "Reprise" opens May 16, and "Elegy" hits theaters in August.
"Reprise" is produced by Spillefilmkompaniet 41/2 and Karin Julsrud in cooperation with the Norwegian Film Institute. Rudin executive produced with Marius Holst, Alain Monne, Hakon Overas, Turid Oversveen, Aagot Skjeldal and Pal Sletaune. "Elegy" was produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Andre Lamal, with Lakeshore's David Dinerstein repping the filmmakers in their deal.
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