25-09-2008

Country Teacher to be released in USA

By Irena Zemanova

    Country Teacher by ascendant Czech director Bohdan Slama has been sold to American distributor Film Movement, which bought the licence and theatrical distribution rights for in the US,

    American filmgoers will see the movie in the first half on 2009, the film´s press representative Martina Rekova said.

    "Bohdan Slama confirmed again that he is able to narrate a universal, amazing story, intelligible to the film audience worldwide," said Adley Gartenstein of Film Movement. "I believe that the story of unfulfilled love and forgiveness will succeed in American cinemas."

    Country teacher, a co-production of Czech production company Negativ (www.negativ.cz), Czech television (www.ceskatelevize.cz), Germany´s Pallas Film, and Why Not Productions of France, has achieved significant attention since its world release in March 2008.

    Attendance is near 200.000 in Czech cinemas, with ticket sales of CZK19 million (€780,000), according to the Czech Union of Film Distributors (www.ufd.cz).

    Following screenings at this year´s Venice international film festival and Toronto international film festival, distribution rights have been sold to Germany, France, Austria, Poland, Australia, and Mexico.