While the Danish release of Fenar Ahmad's second feature film "Darkland" is set for 19 January, the film is now being picked up for distribution in a number of international territories.
Following a promo reel screening at the American Film Market earlier in November, the film was sold for distribution in the UK (Studiocanal) and Japan (Gaga). Among the other sales that were closed during the annual market for independent film in Santa Monica were deals made with China and Turkey – with more territories in negotiation, sales agent Trustnordisk reports.
Ahmad's revenge drama features Dar Salim ("Exodus", "Game of Thrones", "Borgen") as Zaid, a successful surgeon living in a fancy apartment with his pregnant girlfriend. One night Zaid’s younger brother, Yasin, knocks on his door and asks for money. Zaid refuses. A few days later Yasin is found beaten to death. Soon, Zaid embarks on a mission to avenge his brother's death.
Playing Zaid's girlfriend is Stine Fischer Christensen ("After the Wedding"), and the cast also features Roland Møller ("Land of Mine") and Dulfi Al-Jabouri ("A War").
Fenar Ahmad graduated as a director from the Super16 alternative film school in Copenhagen. His short film "Megaheavy" (2009) was selected for the Berlinale and was honoured with a Danish Robert award for best short fiction. His 2014 first feature "Flow" premiered at CPH PIX and screened at the London Film Festival.
Profile Pictures – four films in a year
Profile Pictures, which is producing "Darkland," is one of Denmark's meteoric young production companies. In the five years of its existence, the company has wagered on first-time or emerging filmmakers.
Now, within a year or so, it is releasing four new films, starting in February with the Berlinale premiere of "Shelley" by first-time feature director Ali Abbasi. In September, Profile Pictures premiered another directorial debut, "In the Blood" by prolific screenwriter Rasmus Heisterberg, at the Toronto Film Festival. The Danish release of Fenar Ahmad's "Darkland," on 19 January, will be followed by screenwriter Jens Dahl’s first feature film as a director, "3 Things," starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen.
Profile Pictures' producers, Jacob Jarek, Ditte Milsted, Caroline Schlüter Bingestam and Thor Sigurjonsson, are also behind other types of productions, including Sun Hee Engelstoft's documentary "No Regrets," Anders Gustafsson's short film "Lukas & the Aspies" and last year's Cannes award-winning Icelandic-Danish co-production "Rams."
"Darkland" is produced with support from the Danish Film Institute through the Commissioner Scheme.
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