Barbarian with low self-esteem sells to 15 countries

by Jorn Rossing Jensen

27/05/2011 - The first 3D feature from Danish animation studio Einstein Film – Danish directors Torbjørn Christoffersen, Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen and Philip Eintein Lipski’s Ronal the Barbarian – has become an instant best-seller for Danish film boutique LevelK.

During and after Cannes, managing director Tine Klint has clinched more than 15 deals with distributors worldwide, including Seven Sept (France), MFA (Germany), Volga (Russia, CIS, the Baltics), Kino Swiat (Poland), Pro Film (Bulgaria), MCF (for all states of the former Yugoslavia), Özen Film (Turkey), JRD Films (India), and HGC Entertainment (China).

With a pageboy haircut and twig-like arms, Ronal is a young barbarian with low self-esteem – a real wuss, a direct opposite of all the other villagers. Still, it is he who saves the clan when the evil Lord Volcazar raids the community and abducts everybody else.

Christoffersen scripted the fully animated Trine Heidegaard production, which was backed by the Danish Film Institute and Danish broadcaster TV2. According to Klint, several distributors want to release it in October, shortly after the local Sepember 22 launch by Nordisk Film.