Paris-based MK2 films, which has five movies in competition at Cannes for the second consecutive year, has come on board to co-produce and sell internationally Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s next movie, “The Worst Person in the World,” along with a pair of feature documentaries: “Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful” and Jean-Stéphane Bron’s “The Brain.”
“The Worst Person in the World” will be the closing chapter of Trier’s “Oslo Trilogy,” which includes his feature debut, “Reprise,” and “Oslo, August 31st,” which premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
Trier’s credits include “Louder Than Bombs” with Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne and Isabelle Huppert, which competed in Cannes. His latest film, “Thelma,” played at Toronto and was the Norwegian submission for foreign-language film Oscar in 2017.
Written by Trier and Eskil Vogt, “The Worst Person in the World” is a modern dramedy about the quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo. It chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
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Headlined by Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, who both starred in “Oslo, August 31st,” “The Worst Person in the World” is produced by Thomas Robsahm for Oslo Pictures with a budget of €5 million ($5.6 million).
“After years of wanting to work with Joachim Trier, one of the strongest and most original voices to emerge from Europe, we are honored to be partnering with him and Oslo Pictures on this bold and resoundingly modern film” said Juliette Schrameck, managing director of MK2 films.
“Laced with humor and brighter in tone than his previous films, this new project brilliantly captures Joachim Trier’s sharp and humanistic contemplation of the human condition,” Schrameck added. “And while the themes here are very much universal, the story feels more personal, which will surely resonate deeply with the audience.”
Following the international success of Tom Volf’s “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Worlds,” MK2 will kick off pre-sales on another high-profile documentary, “Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful,” Gero Von Boehm’s film about the trailblazing late photographer who had a defining impact on the worlds of fashion and art. The film will feature exclusive interviews with Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull, Catherine Deneuve, Anna Wintour, Isabella Rossellini, Claudia Schiffer and Grace Jones, among others.
The director was granted full access to exclusive photographs and archive footage by The Helmut Newton Foundation. The film was produced by Lupa Film and will be delivered during the first half of 2020.
“With questions of nudity in art and the ‘male gaze’ being debated now more than ever, the timing really feels right for the women who knew Newton best to finally give their interpretation of the work and life of this controversial artist: the stars of his iconic portraits, the magazine editors who put Newton on the pages of the most influential magazines, as well as his wife and fellow artist, June Newton,” Schrameck and Fionnuala Jamison, head of sales at MK2 films, said in a statement.
“The Brain” will mark Bron’s eighth feature film, following the well-received documentaries “Cleveland Versus Wall Street,” which opened at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, and “The Paris Opera,” which played at Locarno.
Produced by Bande à Part Films and co-produced by Les Films Pelléas, the film follows a series of characters interconnected like parts of a gigantic brain and will explore the issues and implications surrounding recent developments in neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
“This is a crucial and urgent topic that galvanizes people’s interest but is not always properly understood. Thanks to Jean-Stéphane Bron’s sharp eye and engaging storytelling, the documentary will take us on a journey through the human mind, from Europe to the Silicon Valley, drawing the map of a future both fascinating and disturbing,” Schrameck and Jamison said in a statement. The documentary will be delivered early next year.