Tom Grater/ ScreenDaily
Following the film’s market debut at last month’s European Film Market in Berlin, the Maggie Gyllenhaal-starring The Kindergarten Teacher has added a raft of international distribution territories.
UK sales outfit Protagonist Pictures has sealed agreements for Italy (Officine Ubu), Benelux (Splendid), CIS (Russia World Vision), Scandinavia and Baltics (Non Stop Entertainment), Former Yugoslavia (MCF), Hungary (ADS), Israel (Lev Films), Poland (M2 Films), Greece (Strada), Portugal (Alambique), Turkey (Filmarti), Middle East (Front Row Entertainment) and Cinesky (Airlines). In the Asia region the film sold to China (Times Vision), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Korea (AtNine) and Hong Kong (Golden Scene).
The film previously sold to Thunderbird Releasing for the UK and Netflix for North America.
The Kindergarten Teacher premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic for writer-director Sara Colangelo.
It stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as a Staten Island kindergarten teacher who, when she discovers what may be a gifted five-year-old in her class, becomes fascinated and obsessed with the child, spiralling downward on a dangerous and desperate path in order to nurture his talent.
Gael García Bernal also stars in the feature, which is a remake of Nadav Lapid’s acclaimed 2014 Israeli film of the same name.
Talia Kleinhendler and Osnat Handelsman Keren (The Women’s Balcony) produced through their company Pie Films, with Trudie Styler (Moon) and Celine Rattray under their Maven Films banner, alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal. It was financed and co-produced by PaperChase Films, Pia Pressure, Farcaster Films, Imagination Park Entertainment and Manhattan Productions.
“We fell in love with The Kindergarten Teacher in Sundance and were thrilled to introduce the film to international buyers in Berlin,” said Protagonist’s managing director, sales & distribution Vanessa Saal. “We are so pleased this provocative story, Maggie’s electric performance, and Sara Colangelo’s well-deserved award-winning direction has connected with distributors around the world.”