EXCLUSIVE: Protagonist Pictures has boarded worldwide sales on Rotterdam Big Screen Competition world premiere Butterfly, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Itonje Søimer Guttormsen, and starring Sentimental Value actor Renate Reinsve.
Reinsve, who also won the Cannes best actress prize in 2021 for The Worst Person In The World, stars alongside Helene Bjørneby in her first major leading role. A first look still has been unveiled (see above).
Maria Ekerhovd of Norway’s Mer Film, who also produced Sentimental Value, is producing. Co-producers are Emily …
EXCLUSIVE: Protagonist Pictures has boarded worldwide sales on Rotterdam Big Screen Competition world premiere Butterfly, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Itonje Søimer Guttormsen, and starring Sentimental Value actor Renate Reinsve.
Reinsve, who also won the Cannes best actress prize in 2021 for The Worst Person In The World, stars alongside Helene Bjørneby in her first major leading role. A first look still has been unveiled (see above).
Maria Ekerhovd of Norway’s Mer Film, who also produced Sentimental Value, is producing. Co-producers are Emily Morgan of the UK’s Quiddity Films, Lizette Jonic of Zentropa Sweden and Wiebke Andresen of Germany’s Nord Film.
Two half-sisters grow up as the only resident children at an all-inclusive resort on Gran Canaria, where their uninhibited mother worked as a hostess. Twenty-five years later, they have both created distance from the island and from each other – one working in a kindergarten in a small town in Hamburg, the other a retired model and figure in Hamburg’s art scene.
When forced to return to the island to deal with their mother’s death, their reunion sets them on a journey into their past.
Funders include the Norwegian Film Institute, Zefyr Media Fund, UK Global Screen Fund, MOIN, Film i Väst, Swedish post-production house TINT, Eurimages and the Nordic Film and TV Fund.
Itonje Søimer Guttormsen said: “It is a great pleasure that Butterfly will have its international premiere in Rotterdam. I have personally had some unforgettable film experiences as an audience member at IFFR, and I am proud that our film is welcomed by a festival that champions artistic courage. It also means a lot to return to Rotterdam, after Retract screened at the festival in 2017 and Gritt in 2021.”
“Itonje is a truly singular filmmaker, and Butterfly represents a thrilling leap forward for her,” said Dave Bishop, CEO of Protagonist Pictures. “Renate and Helen deliver fearless, magnetic performances that heighten the film’s emotional and visual ambition. We’re delighted to be partnering with such exceptional talent as the film heads toward its Rotterdam debut.”