Maurizius Staerkle Drux’s The Art of Silence
“We develop tailor-made distribution strategies for each title and we may come on board anytime, but preferably at the rough-cut stage,” MAGNETFILM CEO Georg Gruber explains his modus operandi to Business Doc Europe.
“We are always looking for films with strong narratives, compelling subjects and characters, and with a clear appeal to a worldwide audience. Thematically, we’re open to all kinds of topics: from current affairs to human rights, from social and environmental issues to geo-politics, but we have a special place in our heart for all things pop-culture, music, culinary, arts, design and architecture.”
High on the MAGNETFILM slate at DfS 2022 Magnet Film’s first highlight is Maurizius Staerkle Drux’s The Art of Silence. Selected by Hot Docs and Locarno’s Panorama Suisse, it centres on the legendary French actor and mime Marcel Marceau (1923-2007). Drux’s feature interweaves excerpts of Marceau’s performances, archival footage from his past and details his participation in the Resistance during WW2, as well as testimonies from some of his family members and artists who carry on his legacy. “It’s a deep and rich biography that also celebrates his resonance today. It’s the perfect time to dive into Marceau’s art as his centennial is on 22 March next year,” said Gruber.
The second title of MAGNETFILM’s slate is Marc Wiese’s This Stolen Country of Mine, which recently won at Mexico’s DocsMx and played at prestigious gatherings such as CPH:DOX, DOK.Fest München, DocAviv, AJB DOC and Warsaw. Wiese tells a typical ‘David against Goliath’ story by zooming in on two resistance fighters in Ecuador – a journalist and an indigenous community leader – who oppose the country’s sell-out of its natural resources to Chinese investors.
Five more titles round off MAGNETFILM’s diverse offering at IDFA’s Docs for Sale: Lea Naijar’s hopeful ‘journey roof-to-roof’ Kash Kash, winner of the CPH:DOX Next:Wave Award; Sabine Lamby, Coenrial Partmann and Isabel Gathof’s Fritz Bauer’s Legacy, which investigates why Germany’s justice system had troubles dealing with its countless unpunished Nazi crimes for decades; Gereon Wetzel and Melanie Liebheit’s She Chef, which recently world-premiered at DOK Leipzig and tells a young female chef’s career in high-end restaurants; Tyler Dohring’s Stella, a doc revolving around a pizzeria trying to get the coveted Michelin star; and Manal Masri’s Touching Freedom, wherein the efforts of two former students’ efforts to document the Kurdish resistance against ISIS take centre stage.
Gruber comments how business has remained steady over the past years, despite Covid. “We did not really see a significant pick-up during the pandemic years, as overall sales were more or less the same. What changed for us is the volume of deals, [as we deal with] a lot more ‘smaller’ sales to niche platforms and channels, and less and less ‘bigger’ TV and platform deals. When looking at the different revenue streams, AVoD is a pleasant surprise for us, and in particular YouTube.”
“We see that buyers focus more and more on ‘mainstream’ docs, or titles able to cater a specific target audience – for example architecture, music, design, sports or spiritual films,” he notes on buyer trends. “It seems that there is less and less appetite for creative, artistic and/or auteur-driven films, with the exception of a few outstanding films that have played at A-festivals such as Sundance, the Berlinale, Venice, Toronto, and so on.”
Each year, MAGNETFILM acquires 10-12 non-fiction titles – usually features and TV docs, and occasionally TV series – along with roughly 15 live-action and animation shorts. The German firm attends an average of 10 events year, including major gatherings such as the Berlinale’s European Film Market, CPH:DOX, Mipcom and IDFA, as well as pitching events such as the Nordisk Forum and the DOK Leipzig CoProMarket.
Gruber described MAGNETFILM’s approach to sales as “hands-on and efficient” as the team strives “to be transparent and accessible for filmmakers,” looking to build “long-term partnerships” but also striking a balance on titles that boast “a more straightforward commercial appeal” and “taking chances on ‘smaller‘ or ‘special‘ films.”
As per his expectations from this year’s IDFA, he commented: “I’m very much looking forward to catching up with producers, buyers and programmers we’re working with already. At the same time, I look forward to meet new people from the industry and discover the upcoming projects presented in the Forum.”
“Apart from attracting interest around the films we bring to Docs for Sale, it’s also a good moment to discuss our upcoming films with buyers and festivals, including the brand-new portrait of renowned Indian architect BV Doshi [titled The Promise. Architect BV Doshi, directed by Jan Schmidt-Garre] as we’re looking for a festival premiere for Q1 2023,” the MAGNETFILM boss signed off.
