Neon picks up “Flee” for seven numbers; First offer at Sundance Film Festival 2021 – Deadline

Neon made the first acquisition of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, taking the North American rights from Jonas Poher Rasmussen To run away for an undisclosed seven-figure sum after an overnight bidding war.

The film, produced by Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, was an official selection for Cannes 2020 and debuted on Sundance opening night in the Global Documentary Competition. Rasmussen directed and co-wrote the film with Amin Nawabi.

Playing in the world premiere section, To run away follows Nawabi, who arrives as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his longtime boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built for himself. Told primarily in animated form to Rasmussen – his close friend and high school classmate, it first tells the story of his extraordinary journey as a refugee child from Afghanistan.

To run away is produced by Final Cut for Real, in co-production with animation studio Sun Creature (Denmark), Vivement Lundi! (France), MostFilm (Sweden), Mer Film (Norway), ARTE (France) and Vpro (Netherlands). The film is supported and produced in association with Vice Studios and Ryot Films and Ahmed’s Left Handed Films.

“So thrilled to partner with Neon for distribution in North America, being such an innovative and daring company that we believe they can deliver wide distribution across the United States,” said Monica Hellström & Signe Byrge Sørensen of Final Cut for Real in a statement.

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“Very happy to work with the revolutionary Neon distributors to obtain To run away Rasmussen said. “Their list of titles includes a large amount of my favorite movies from the past two years and I’m extremely proud to now include my own work on this list.”

Ahmed said: “I was overwhelmed by the emotional impact of To run away. This is a unique project that advances our ideas about what documentary, animated and refugee-centric narratives can be. I am proud to help bring this project to life for an English-speaking audience. “

Coster-Waldau added: “When I looked To run away, I was blown away by the power of a story told in a simple way. To run away is a story of extreme perseverance and hope where all hope seems lost. Using the animation director, Jonas Poher Rasmussen captures the intensity of a refugee’s incredible journey from the streets of Kabul to the Danish suburbs. Because Amin is able to tell his story hidden behind his animated avatar, he feels so much more revealing and honest than if it were a standard film interview. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of To run away and encourage everyone to check out this movie gem.

The photo is edited by Janus Billeskov Jansen, whose notable works include the Oscar nominee The hunt (2013), Oscar nominee by Joshua Oppenheimer The act of killing (2012), Oscar nominee by Yance Ford Strong island (2017) and Thomas Vinterberg Another round (2020), the Danish entry for the 93rd Academy Awards.

To run away is produced by Hellström (The distant barking of dogs) and two-time Oscar nominee Sørensen (The act of killing, the gaze of silence), for Final Cut for Real (Denmark). Art Director Jess Nicholls, Animation Director Kenneth Ladekjær and Animation Producer Charlotte De La Gournerie for Sun Creature Studio. Co-produced by Jean-François Le Corre, Mathieu Courtois for Vivement Lundi !, France, Charlotte Most for MostFilm, Sweden and Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film, Norway. Natalie Farrey, Jannat Gargi and Danny Gabai are the executive producers of VICE studios. Philippa Kowarsky is executive producer for Cinephil. While Hayley Pappas and Matt Ippolito produce for RYOT Films.

Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal for Neon with 30WEST and Cinephil’s Philippa Kowarsky on behalf of the filmmakers. International sales are handled by Cinephil.

Franco-Danish director Rasmussen made his 2006 debut with the television documentary Something about Halfdan, followed by a series of radio documentaries from around the world. His debut in cinema Search for Bill, a mix of documentary and fiction, won him the Nordic Dox award at CPH: DOX and the international competition award at DocAviv. In November 2015, he created his last documentary What he did, which won the Fipresci Prize at the 2016 Thessaloniki Film Festival.