Culture 3 min read By Trevor Kendall
Norway's Oscar entry Growth of the Soil lands deals across North America, Europe and beyond
Beta Cinema has sold Hans Petter Moland's Norwegian Oscar contender Growth of the Soil to distributors in North America, the UK and Ireland, Germany and Austria, Italy, Spain and several other territories.
Beta Cinema has closed a series of distribution deals for Hans Petter Moland's «Growth of the Soil», Norway's entry for the Best International Feature category at the 99th Academy Awards. The sales cover North America, where Greenwich Entertainment acquired the film, as well as a broad slate of European territories, signaling strong international interest in the epic love story ahead of its release.
Greenwich Entertainment has taken North American rights. In Germany and Austria, the film was sold to Neue Visionen, while Teodora Film picked up Italy and A Contracorriente Films acquired Spain. In the United Kingdom and Ireland the rights went to Conic, and Cherry Pickers secured the Benelux countries. Frenetic Films took Switzerland, and Weird Wave acquired Greece. Beta Cinema has indicated that further territories will be announced in later deal statements, so the final roster of buyers is not yet complete.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, and then screened at the San Sebastián International Film Festival for its European premiere. At San Sebastián the film took home two major awards, a result that has helped draw the attention of buyers across the continent. Its selection as Norway's official submission for the Oscars also places it in the running for one of the most closely watched prizes in world cinema, and the sales wave follows closely on that festival momentum.
Hans Petter Moland directed the picture, which is described as an epic love story. Moland is a Norwegian filmmaker whose work has frequently centered on character-driven drama, and the new film continues that emphasis on human relationships at the heart of its narrative. Selling a Norwegian-language feature to so many distinct territories at once reflects the continued appetite among distributors for international films that can travel well beyond their home market, particularly those arriving with festival recognition and an awards-season profile.
Beta Cinema, the international sales company handling the rights, has not disclosed the financial terms of any of the deals, and the notes do not confirm the full list of remaining territories. The announcements so far have been staggered across several markets, with each buyer identified as its territory agreement was finalized. Industry observers will be watching whether the Oscar nomination process, if the film advances, adds further value to these releases in the months ahead.
Source: variety.com
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