Film Awarded the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival
U.S. Premiere This Sunday at the New York Film Festival
New York (NY) (October 2, 2009) IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors of independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired North American rights to HADEWIJCH, a provocative film about a religious exremist’s absolute love of god and the shocking consequences it brings. Written and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Bruno Dumont, the film stars Julie Sokolowski, in her feature film debut, and was produced by Rachid Bouchareb, Jean Brehat, Muriel Merlin and Dirk Wilutsky. HADEWIJCH is having its U.S. premiere this Sunday at the New York Film Festival with Dumont and Sokolowski in attendance. The film had its world premiere last month at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival, where it won the esteemed FIPRESCI International Critics Prize. It was also recently shown in competition at the San Sebastian festival.
The deal for HADEWIJCH was negotiated by Lizzie Nastro on behalf of IFC Films, with Yoann Ubermulhin of Pyramide International.
In one of his most uncompromising works to date, Bruno Dumont undertakes a topical exploration of the psychology of religious extremism and martyrdom. Expelled from a convent for her overzealous faith, teenage Celine (Julie Sokolowski) reluctantly returns to a life of comfort and privilege as the daughter of a French government minister. Back in Paris and farther from God, she makes a new friend, an Arab boy who introduces her to the cites, housing projects full of Arab and African immigrants, an alien world but one where faith exerts a familiar sway. As hard-headed and at times as enigmatic as its unforgettable heroine, HADEWIJCH is a movie on a quest: At once a sincere theological inquiry and a provocative political meditation.
Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment commented "Over the last decade, Bruno Dumont has emerged as one of the most important filmmakers working in the world. With Hadewijch, he’s made his most accessible film that is going to be a real topic of discussion. We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with him and our friends at Pyramide."
IFC Films is releasing HADEWIJCH in 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings critically-acclaimed independent movies to on demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.
About The Filmmaker
Bruno Dumont was born in Bailleul, France. He has taught philosophy and directed more than forty commercials, shorts and documentaries. He is the director of La Vie de Jesus (99), L’Humanite (99), Twentynine Palms (03) and Flandres (06). L’Humanite and Flandres were both awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Hadewijch (09) is his latest film.
About IFC Entertainment
A leader in the independent film industry, IFC Entertainment consists of multiple brands that are devoted to bringing the best of specialty films to the largest possible audience: IFC Films, Festival Direct, IFC Productions, and the IFC Center. IFC Films is a leading distributor of independent film. Its unique day and date distribution model, ’IFC In Theaters,’ makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform and through Pay-Per-View, reaching 50 million homes. ’IFC Festival Direct’ features a wide selection of titles acquired from major international film festivals and offers them exclusively through Video on Demand. IFC Productions is a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects. IFC Center is a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema with luxurious seating and HD digital and 35mm projection that shows art-house films in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. IFC Entertainment’s companies are subsidiaries of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.