World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival
New York, NY – August 28, 2008 – IFC Films has acquired US rights to Ole Christian Madsen’s Danish drama Flame & Citron. The film stars award winning actor Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale; After the Wedding) and Thure Lindhardt (Into the Wild). Flame & Citron will have its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, and subsequently screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film will be released in 2009 theatrically through IFC Films and on VOD through IFC in Theaters, its day and date distribution platform which makes independent films available to a national audience in theaters and on-demand, simultaneously.
"This is truly dazzling filmmaking that delivers enough twists and turns to keep even the sharpest viewer on the edge of their seats, said Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment. "We’re looking forward to bringing this film to an American audience."
Flame & Citron is a Danish drama based on actual events and eye-witness accounts of two of the most active resistance fighters in the Holger Danske resistance group during World War II, Bent Faurschou-Hviid (known as Flame) and Jorgen Haagen Schmith (known as Citron). The fearless and uncompromising Flame, played by Thure Lindhardt, is a confirmed anti-fascist and dreams of the day when the group will assemble and openly launch an armed counterattack at the occupying power. The more sensitive family man, Citron, played by Mads Mikkelsen, used to work primarily as a driver for Flame, but now finds himself becoming more deeply involved in the group’s work. When their immediate superior, Aksel Winther, orders them into action against two German Abwehr officers, events start to get out of hand.
Filmed in Germany, Copenhagen and Prague, Flame & Citron stars Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen, and includes a talented supporting cast including Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind, Mille Lehfeldt, Flemming Enevold, Jesper Christensen, Malene Schwartz, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Berkel, and Hanns Zischler. The film is co-written by Madsen and Lars K. Andersen and produced by Lars Bredo Rahbek.
Rahbek adds, "We are thrilled to be working again with IFC. Flame & Citron just opened to great reviews in Germany and is set to hit screens in major territories such as Spain, the UK and Japan within the near future. We are very pleased that American cinema audiences will now get a chance to see Ole Christian Madsen’s fantastic film as well."
A well-respected and seasoned Danish filmmaker, Madsen has directed a number of successful feature films including the 2006 drama Prague and 2001’s Kira’s Reason: A Love Story, which received several awards including a Bodil for best film.
Arianna Bocco, Vice President of Production and Acquisitions for IFC Films negotiated the deal with Michael Weber from The Match Factory.
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, IFC Productions, and the IFC Center. Through an innovative day-and-date distribution model, IFC Entertainment makes films available to a national audience through theatrical release by its renowned film division, while IFC In Theaters, an on demand service, simultaneously releases these titles to cable and satellite viewers. IFC Festival Direct features a wide selection of titles acquired from major international film festivals and offers them exclusively through on-demand and digital platforms. 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.
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.