Exclusive: REinvent closes raft of deals in Cannes on Dark Windows and Empire

The Nordic sales company reported brisk activity on its ‘chills’ titles and strong interest in new pick up Stranger.

Part of its ‘Chills’ label, the English-language Norwegian chiller Dark Windows by Alex Herron (Leave) added Germany’s Atlas Film, Brainmaker Media for the US and Canada to its foreign sales that started before Berlin. The film produced by Element Film tells of a group of youngsters who take refuge in a cabin in the US countryside to mourn the loss of a friend in a car crash. SF Studios has Nordic rights.

During Cannes, REinvent also sold the Danish ‘Chills’ title The Angel Maker to France’s Koba Film. The psycho thriller co-directed by Julie R. Ølgaard and Esben Tønnesen for HitHero Productions is due to open June 8 in Denmark via SF Studios.

In a move to widen its genre offer, REinvent has also added the Swedish thriller In the Name of God by Ludvig Gür to its Cannes slate. The film produced by Silverbullet Film tells of a priest on a mission to expand his congregation at any cost. In the title roles are Linus Wahlgren, Lisa Henni, and Thomas Hanzon.

Elsewhere, REinvent has closed the Danish period drama Empire by Frederikke Aspöck with Australia’s Palace Films. The colonial satire produced by Meta Film screened earlier this year in competition in Göteborg.

Among the high-profile upcoming films, Lukas Moodysson’s Together 99 which was pre-sold to Benelux (September Films), attracted more buyers interest, via a fresh promo-reel and the new pick up Stranger by Mads Hedegaard which starts filming this summer was another big draw.

“Stranger is unique, with its stone-age setting and pre-Indo-European language created for the film, and the director has a clear vision, which makes it for a strong proposition,” said sales and marketing director Helene Aurø.

Commenting on market trends in Cannes, the seasoned sales executive said: “people are definitely back in business, but buyers are careful and often want to watch the films before signing. Only very strong projects with all elements in place (story, pedigree cast, director, producer) pre-sell. “

On the financing side, REinvent Studios’ CEO Rikke Ennis said ambitions from creators are high to compete on the market, but gap financing is harder to assemble, which is challenging. “This forces us to look at the sales puzzle in a different way, as the demand from buyers is as strong as ever,” added Aurø.