Beta Cinema has sold the German box-office hit “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit” by Oscar-winner Caroline Link to the U.S. Greenwich Entertainment picked up the rights to the feature, which has attracted almost one million admissions since its Christmas release in Germany alone.
German media lauded the film, calling it “a real godsend for the German cinema year” (Spiegel), “a remarkably optimistic drama” (Stern) and “a film that appeals to children and adults equally” (Die Zeit).
The Sommerhaus production in co-production with Warner Bros. Entertainment, Nextfilm Filmproduktion, La Siala Entertainment, Hugofilm Production, and RAI Cinema stars Carla Juri (“Blade Runner 2049”), Oliver Masucci (“Never Look Away,” “Look Who’s Back”) and Riva Krymalowski, and is based on the semi-biographical bestselling novel by Judith Kerr.
It follows 9-year-old Anna, who in 1933 has to flee the Nazis, leaving her favorite pink rabbit cuddly toy behind. From then on, the toy dominates Anna’s thoughts, as her family moves to Zurich and Paris, to finally land in London. She encounters life in exile, not speaking the language, not knowing customs and manners, missing her friends and loved ones. Yet Anna grows up, finds new friends, learns to take responsibility and is certain she can do anything.
“Our heroine feels the effects of tyranny, antisemitism, displacement and being a refugee and despite these real dangers, somehow manages to keep her innocence and sense of adventure through it all. Caroline Link has created a new classic film of 20th-century childhood in extremis,” said Edward Arentz, Greenwich co-MD, who negotiated the deal with Beta Cinema CEO Dirk Schuerhoff.