15/05/2008

Tomas Alfredson’s vampire film Let the Right One In [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: John Nordling
interview: Tomas Alfredson
film profile], winner of the top feature film award at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival on May 1, has been bought for a US remake under the care of horror specialist Hammer Films and Spitfire Pictures in the US.

The Swedish producers John Nordling and Carl Molder (EFTI), who will be involved in the US version, said they were finalising the deal with their US partners. Let the Right One In will be one of the two to three genre films that Spitfire Pictures – headed by Guy East and Nigel Sinclair – have agreed to produce for the legendary UK horror brand Hammer Films. The Swedish film had a triumphant screening at Tribeca and received from festival co-founders Robert de Niro and Jane Rosenthal the Founders Award for Best Narrative, which comes with $25,000 in cash.

"This is very overwhelming," said Alfredson as he took to the stage to accept the prize. The jury awarded the film “for its mesmerizing exploration of loneliness and alienation through masterful re-examination of the vampire myth.”

The film was produced by EFTI in cooperation with Filmpool Nord, Sandrew Metronome, SVT, Chimney Pot, Fido Film, Ljudligan and WAG, with support from the Swedish Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Bavaria Film International closed several deals on the film (including Magnolia Pictures for the US) following its market premiere in Berlin last February. Other market screenings are scheduled at the Market in Cannes today and on May 21.