More booty from The Hunt, which sells the US and 13 other territories

by Jorn Rossing Jensen

01/06/2012 - Danish director Thomas Vinterberg's return to Cannes 14 years after Festen (The Celebration), The Hunt [trailer, film focus], continues to attract signatures for international sales contracts. Yesterday (May 30) Denmark's TrustNordisk announced that it had licensed the film to US distributor Magnolia Pictures and 13 other territories - so far, more than 30 countries have been sold.

"Vinterberg's finest work since The Celebration, with a performance by Mads Mikkelsen that more than validates his Best Actor Award at Cannes," said Magnolia Pictures President and Co-founder Eamonn Bowles of the film, which also won the Ecumenical Prize and the Vulcain Prize of the Technical Artist for cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen at the festival.

After the UK, France, Italy and Russia, TrustNordisk's latest deals cover Germany, Austria (Wild Bunch), Spain (Golem Distribución), Canada (Mongrel Media), Australia (Madman), Switzerland (Frenetic Films), Portugal (Midas Filmes), Turkey (Platforma Filma), Brazil (California Filmes), Japan (Kino Films), Hong Kong (Edko), South Korea (Atnine) and Estonia (Estinfilm OÜ).

Originally scheduled for a January 10 2013 release in Denmark, the €2.7 million feature produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Morten Kaufmann for Zentropa Entertainments is likely to change dates for its domestic premiere. Zentropa and local distributor Nordisk Film A/S are trying to find an earlier slot to meet demands from cinemas and audiences.

The Hunt also marked Vinterberg's return to Zentropa, and at Cannes the company's CEO Peter Aalbæk Jensen confirmed that they are collaborating on his next project, "a little local Danish movie." The director is also planning a screen adaption of his play The Commune, which he staged last year at Vienna's Burgtheater.