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Daily News
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IFC & Focus Bond with Brothers
In a first-time partnership, IFC Films and Focus Features acquire North American
rights to Susanne Bier's Brothers.
Tuesday, October 5, 2004
By Mark Umbach
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IFC Films and Focus Features have partnered for North American rights to Danish
filmmaker Susanne Bier's Brothers, which recently received critical praise
at the Toronto and San Sebastian International Film Festivals. The film stars
Connie Nielsen, Ulrich Thomsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas in the story of two brothers
whose lives are pulled together and then sharply divided.
From a script by Anders Thomas Jensen, based on a story by him and Bier, Brothers
centers on the relationship between brothers Jannik (Kaas) and Michael (Thomsen).
After being released from jail, Jannik returns to his deviant ways of alcoholism
and meandering, just as Michael is preparing to start a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
When Michael's helicopter crashes and he's presumed dead, Jannik grows close
to Michael's wife Sarah (Nielsen) and his two daughters. And while their bond
grows stronger, Michael, who's actually alive, is working to get back to all
he left behind.
Last weekend Brothers, already a box office hit in Denmark, won Nielsen
and Thomsen the Best Actress and Best Actor Awards from the San Sebestian Festival.
The role was a different one for Nielsen, who left Hollywood, and all her makeup,
behind for the gritty performance in her native Denmark.
"She’s used to having somebody standing there and making sure she’s
beautiful all the time. But I was very, very firm about it, but she became stimulated
by it and enjoyed it. It wouldn’t have worked otherwise for Danish audiences,"
Biers explained to FilmStew's David Michael. "For little Denmark, having
the big Hollywood star coming home, and then she’s looking like a Hollywood
star - we would be smashed, and I’d be pulled apart by criticism.”
The acquisition marks the first partnership between IFC and Focus. IFC will
take the lead in the theatrical distribution of the film, with Focus handling
home video rights through Universal Studios Home Video. The companies acquired
the film from Trust Film Sales, and the deal was announced by IFC President
Jonathan Sehring and Focus co-Presidents David Linde and James Schamus.
"We saw many worthwhile features at Toronto, but Brothers was the
standout," noted Sehring. "We were just blown away by the precision
and intensity of Susanne's work. It is emotionally harrowing but surprisingly
hopeful, with performances that cut to the core."
| Bier is the director of such films as Credo, Once in a Lifetime
and, more recently, Open Hearts. The director is now attached to helm
Chasing Montana for Focus, with Michelle Pfeiffer attached to star. David
E. Kelley penned the script for that project. |
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