05/06/2006

European films continue to be favourite pick-ups for Triangelfilm and its Nordic counterpart Sandrew Metronome, but NonStop Entertainment turned to Asian fare during this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Truthful to its taste for quality auteur films, Mattias Nohrborg, head of Triangel Film, who buys 20-25 films per year for its Swedish distribution outfit and for other Scandinavian territories, came back with half a dozen new titles from Cannes. From the official competition, Triangel Film had already pre-bought Nanni Moretti’s >The Caiman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Labadie
interview: Nanni Moretti
film profile]and added Nicole Garcia’s Charlie Says [+see also:
trailer
film profile], both on Wild Bunch’s menu, as well as Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner The Wind That Shakes the Barley [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ken Loach
interview: Rebecca O’Brien
film profile], sold by Pathé International.

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Nohrborg also pre-bought from Celluloid Dreams François Ozon’s English-language debut, Angel, and Michael Haneke’s English-language remake of his 1997 film Funny Games, starring Naomi Watts.

Nohrborg also bet on the first English-language film of another prominent filmmaker: Wong Kar-wai, whose future romantic film My Blueberry Nights will feature Jude Law, Norah Jones, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz. Wong Kar-wai’s other film in preparation, Lady from Shanghai, starring Nicole Kidman, was also acquired by Triangel Film from StudioCanal.

The US film Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell sold by Fortissimo, was another new pick-up as well as Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, sold by Wild Bunch. All new titles will benefit from top theatrical exposure in Sweden through Triangel’s exhibition chain Astorias Cinemas ( Sandrew Metronome’s 22 cinemas/89 screens in Sweden).

Strengthened by its 100% take-over on May 19 by Norwegian media group Schibsted, Sandrew Metronome was also hungry for European fare in Cannes. The Nordic distributor acquired from Celsius Entertainment the collective film Paris, je t’aime which opened Un Certain Regard, from TF1 International, La vie en rose by Olivier Dahan, and Jérôme Cornuau’s Tiger Brigades; from Beta Film, The Lives of Others by German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; and from Focus Features, Be Kind Rewind by Michel Gondry.

NonStop Entertainment bought for Scandinavia and Iceland only one new European film in Cannes: Luis Llosa’s The Feast of the Goat, a Spanish/UK co-production starring Isabella Rossellini and sold by IAC Films. The distributor also acquired from Pyramide Film Sales Scandinavian and Baltic rights to an impressive Louis Malle library, including May Fools, Au revoir les enfants, Ascenseur pour l’échafaud and Zazie dans le métro