Instagram
Film und Medien Stiftung NRWNewsPress„Wild“ by Nicolette Krebitz celebrates world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival

„Wild“ by Nicolette Krebitz celebrates world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival

  • 32nd Sundance Film Festival with three Filmstiftung-backed films
  • Sonita“ by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami in the Documentary Competition
  • Festival from 21 – 31 January in Park City/Utah

The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is represented at the 32nd Sundance Film Festival (21. – 31.1.) with three supported films. The drama „Wild“ by Nicolette Krebitz will have its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The documentary „Sonita“ by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami is taking part in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. Moreover, „Cemetery of Splendour“, which received distribution support from the Filmstiftung, is showing in the Spotlight sidebar.

The films in detail:

Director Nicolette Krebitz tells a story of freedom and happiness in WILD. She is by turns powerful, sensuous, fascinating and disturbing in the way she draws us into the unfettered world of a young woman (Lilith Stangenberg) who, after coming upon a wolf on her way to work, revokes our tacit agreements with civilisation and fearlessly opts for a life without a safety net or false bottom. A woman who gradually sets herself free with each step into the "wilderness". The drama was produced by Cologne’s Heimatfilm and shot in NRW, among other places. International sales are being handled by The Match from Cologne, with NFP marketing & distribution serving as distributor. The Filmstiftung backed the production with 450,000 Euros, with additional support coming from Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, DFFF and the FFA.

The documentary „Sonita“ by the Iranian filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami had its world premiere at the IDFA in Amsterdam and received the Audience Award and the Award of the Youth Jury (Doc U). The film is about Sonita, who is 19 years old and comes from Afghanistan. She is living as an illegal migrant in Iran – without any rights, official school education and papers. But Sonita has talent: as the first Aghan rapper, she tells her story which isn’t an isolated case. She’s also hoping that she will be able to escape her family’s plans: they want to sell her to an unknown husband for 9,000 Dollars. The film was produced by TAG/TRAUM/Cologne in co-production with Intermezzo Films/Geneva, NDR, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, SRG SSR and DR, in collaboration with Arte. The Film- und Medienstiftung backed the film with 55,000 Euros, with additional support coming from BKM, the Federal Office for Culture (EDI), Cinéforom et Loterie Romande, Chicken & Egg Pictures and IDFA Bertha Fund. The film will be released in the cinemas in 2017 by Cologne’s realfiction Filmverleih.

Cemetery of Splendour“ will also be in Sundance. The film by the Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul focuses on soldiers who are suffering from a mysterious sleeping sickness. Two women keep watch over the sleeping men with particular care. The Filmstiftung backed the distribution campaign (Rapid Eye Movies) with 20,000 Euros, with world sales being handled by The Match Factory from Cologne. The work, which has already received a number of international awards, is screening in Sundance in the Spotlight sidebar.

The 32nd Sundance Film Festival is being held in Park City, Utah from 21 to 31 January, 2016. It is regarded as the most important North American festival in the independent arena and is organised by the Sundance Institute which was founded by Robert Redford in 1981. The festival is held in high esteem as a springboard particularly for up-and-coming directors in the area of independent film. Films backed by the Filmstiftung have regularly been selected to show at the Sundance Film Festival. Last year saw „Censored Voices“ by Mor Loushy being presented there before it screened a short time later in the Panorama Documents section of the 2015 Berlinale. „Houston“ by Bastian Günther and „Il Futuro“ by Alicia Scherson had their world premieres in Park City in 2013.