Mikael Chr. Rieks is among the 29 producers selected for the European Film Promotion's showcase for producer talents. The 14th edition of Producers on the Move will take place during the Cannes Festival on 18-21 May, offering one of the world's best networking and promotional platforms for young film professionals.
A graduate of Copenhagen's Media and Television School, Mikael Chr. Rieks was a leading TV and documentary producer before he entered the film industry by joining the production team of Nordisk Film in 2003, where he came aboard the producers' team of the internationally acclaimed documentaries "Overcoming" (Tómas Gislason, 2005) and "Ghosts of Cité Soleil" (Asger Leth, 2006), and Charlotte Sachs Bostrup's family film "Karla's World".
In 2008, Rieks founded Koncern Film where he produced Martin Pieter Zandvliet's two feature films "Applause" (2009) and "A Funny Ma"n (2011), both selected for a number of festivals including Toronto. Paprika Steen, Rieks' wife, garnered several accolades for her towering performance as a troubled actress in "Applause".
Today, the 43-year-old producer has reteamed with Nordisk Film where he is producing Zandvliet's WWII drama "A Place under the Sun" in addition to projects by Asger Leth, Paprika Steen, Charlotte Sieling and Niels Gråbøl.
For Rieks trust, honesty and humanity are essential. He says he would never undertake a professional partnership with someone he wouldn't leave his kids with.
"There is so much at stake. We spend so many years of our lives on a film. It's such a strength to be able to trust someone so much that you could say, 'Here, would you hold my baby for me, please?'" Rieks says in our upcoming festival magazine FILM #78.
Keep updated on Danish Cannes news on our festival site dfi.dk/cannes
