Janus Films has acquired all North American rights to German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach‘s (Western) new film, the Cannes Film Festival competition title The Dreamed Adventure (Das Geträumte Abenteuer), which was awarded the jury prize on the Croisette.
The deal was negotiated between Janus Films and The Match Factory. Janus will unveil its theatrical release plans in the coming weeks.
The Dreamed Adventure was produced by Komplizen Film and co-produced by Grisebach, Kazak Productions, Miramar Film, Panama Film, New Matter Films, ARTE France Cinéma and ZDF/ARTE.
“In Svilengrad, a small town on the Bulgarian border, Veska (Yana Radeva) crosses paths with Said (Syuleyman Letifov), an old acquaintance whose car has been stolen,” reads a synopsis for the film. “Offering her help, she brings him along to the excavation site where she is working as an archaeologist. As they reconnect, Veska is pulled more into the shady world that Said has emerged from, soon embarking on her own exploration of the criminal ties that lurk beneath the surface of this seemingly innocent town at the outskirts of Europe. As figures from her own past start to close in, Veska is forced to confront the truth about the town and her experiences.”
Janus’ acquisition of The Dreamed Adventure follows its April U.S. deal for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s The Samurai and the Prisoner, which screened in the Cannes Premiere program.
Grisebach’s graduation film, Be My Star, was nominated for the Adolf Grimme Prize in 2002 and won the Critics’ Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as the Grand Prize at the Torino Film Festival. Her second feature, Longing, premiered in the 2006 Berlin Film Festival competition program, winning awards at international festivals. Her third feature film, Western, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and received, among others, the German Film Critics’ Award for best feature film.
