Beta Cinema has unveiled a raft of international deals for Hans Petter Moland’s Norwegian Oscar entry Growth of the Soil.
The film has sold to North America (Greenwich Entertainment), Germany & Austria (Neue Visionen), Italy (Teodora Film), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), UK & Ireland (Conic), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Switzerland (Frenetic Films), Greece (Weird Wave), the Baltics (Scanorama), Hungary (Vertigo Media), Bulgaria (Beta Film), India (Big Tree Entertainment), Indonesia (Falcon Pictures), Brazil (Imovision) and Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films).
The feature has also enjoyed success closer to home, where the Scandinavian release is handled by Scanbox, with the epic love story taking the top slot at the box office in Norway in its opening weekend.
Based on Nobel Prize Winning novel, Growth of the Soil tells the story of Isak, a man without a past who crosses the mountains in search of somewhere to build a life.
High above the tree line, he finds an unforgiving stretch of land and, eventually, Inger, a woman whose resilience matches his own. Together they create a home and family from almost nothing, until time, ambition and a changing world begin to transform both their relationship and the landscape around them.
Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person in the World) and Asta Kamma August (The Hypnosis) costar, alongside to Gard B. Eidsvold (Troll), Anders Baasmo (Kon-Tiki), Oddgeir Thune (Loveable) and Sjur Vatne Brean (Out Stealing Horses).
Moland, whose credits include Out Stealing Horses, In Order Of Disappearance, A Somewhat Gentle Man and Zero Kelvin, co-wrote the screenplay with actor and writer Gard B. Eidsvold.
The film was shot by Oskar Dahlsbakken, whose credits include Possession, Munch and The Arctic Convoy, with an original score by Danish composer Kaspar Kaae (Fjord, In Order Of Disappearance). It is produced by Håkon Øverås for 4 ½ Fiction, in co-production with Scanbox.
Growth of the Soil world premiered as a Special Presentation at Toronto, and then made its European debut at San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance and the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography.
It has since played at the Warsaw, the Rio, Denver, Mar del Plata and opened the Bergen International Film Festival. It also is shortlisted for this year’s European Film Awards for the Best Feature Film category.
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