Margreth Olin’s “Songs of Earth,” Norway’s Oscar entry for the international feature film race, has been bought by Strand Releasing for North American distribution.
The documentary feature, which is executive produced by Wim Wenders and Liv Ullman, played at Toronto where it sold to key territories, and had its U.S. premiere at the Hamptons Film Festival. Strand Releasing is planning to debut the film early next year.
“We’re thrilled to represent this poetic and cinematic film and feel it will resonate with audiences in a meaningful way to address the global crisis,” said Jon Gerrans, Strand Releasing’s co-president.
“Songs of Earth” portrays the bond between the endangered Norwegian nature and Olin’s 85-year old father. The documentary shows how nature is threatened by climate change, while also depicting the passage of generations.
The film had its world premiere at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival and marks the first time a documentary film has been selected as the Norwegian entry to the international feature film category.
“With almost 5 million Norwegian-Americans living in the United States, this will be a chance for them to follow in the footprints of their ancestors,” Olin said about securing North American distribution for “Songs of Earth.” “My film is about roots and our deep connection to land and nature and I am so grateful that our partners around the world have committed to showing the film on the big screen.”
Represented in international markets by Cinephil, “Songs of Earth” has also sold to FilmBazar in Denmark, Wanted in Italy, Krakow Film Foundation in Poland, Bantam in the Benelux, Film Europe in the Czech Republic/Slovakia and Transformer in Japan.
The film is currently a box office hit in Norway, with about 70,000 tickets sold to date. “Songs of Earth” is also in cinemas in Sweden, where it’s being distributed by Folkets Bio. Other theatrical releases are set for this winter and early next year.
Strand’s slate of buzzy titles also includes Anthony Chen’s “The Breaking Ice,” the Singaporean Oscar entry.