Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to “Islands,” following the thriller’s premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The film was co-written and directed by Jan-Ole Gerster, whose previous credits include “A Coffee in Berlin” and “Lara.” It was co-written by Blaz Kutin and Lawrie Dornan, and stars Sam Riley (“Control”), Stacy Martin (“The Brutalist”) and Jack Farthing (“Spencer”). The film received four nominations at the prestigious Lola Awards — the German equivalent of the Oscars — including Best Picture, Best Leading Actor, Best Original Music and Best Sound.
The film also scored strong critical notices at its debut in Berlinale with Variety’s Peter Debruge calling it “mesmerizing” and many reviewers highlighting Martin and Riley’s lead performances.
The film follows Tom, (Riley) a tennis coach at a luxurious island hotel, filling the time between lessons and one-night stands. The arrival of a mysterious family pulls Tom out of his normal routing as he strikes up a relationship with Anne (Martin), her husband Dave (Farthing) and their son Anton (Dylan Torrell). Tom is unable to shake the feeling that he has met Anne before, and the tension grows between them until one night Dave goes missing and the police suspect Tom and Anne.
“I’m deeply grateful to Greenwich for bringing our film to North American audiences. I can’t wait for viewers to experience the incredible performances by Sam, Stacy and Jack—they bring such depth and nuance to the screen.” said Gerster.
Previous Greenwich releases include Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi’s Oscar-winning “Free Solo” and “Close to You,” starring Elliot Page. Greenwich just released Durga Chew-Bose’s “Bonjour Tristesse,” starring Lily McInerny, Claes Bang, and Chloë Sevigny
“Islands” was produced by Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo with associate producer Katrin Kreppel and executive producers Jonathan Saubach, Simon Stein, Klaus Dohle, Adrià Monés, Maud Petit, and Charles Collier. Co-producers include Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann, Max Conradt, Cosima von Spreti, Marcos Kantis, Martin Lehwald and Jan-Ole Gerster. The film was co-produced by Leonine Studios and Schiwago Film.
The deal was negotiated by Greenwich’s co-president Andy Bohn with Lina Marrone from Protagonist Pictures representing the filmmakers. Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales alongside augenschein Sales.