Austrian doc specialist Autlook Film Sales’ CEO Salma Abdalla is in upbeat mood on the eve of the Berlin European Film Market.
Shortly before the EFM, many territories announced re-opening plans for cinemas, giving a boost to theatrical buyers after a difficult period of lockdowns. What’s more, increasing numbers of streamers and local SVOD platforms have also emerged in the last 12 months. It has been possible, for example, to close deals with companies like HBO Max, who recently picked up Autlook’s New Zealand documentary There Is No I In Threesome.
At the Berlinale, Abdalla will be starting sales in earnest on Tom Donahue’s new feature doc Dean Martin: King of Cool, about the rat pack crooner and movie star responsible for such enduring classics as Volare and That’s Amore. Abdalla is convinced that ‘Dino’ will cast his familiar spell on distributors and audiences. “He (Martin) was much more than a musician. He was a real entertainer on all different levels. He was a genius.”
The filmmakers have access to Martin’s family archives. They also managed to interview the singer’s old partner on screen, Jerry Lewis, before Lewis’ death in August 2017. The film has been on the Autlook slate for a while but production was slowed down by the pandemic. Now, there is a clear production schedule and the film is due for delivery in the autumn of this year. Autlook will be screening the first material to buyers during the market.
Abdalla is coming to the Berlin market after a Sundance at which Autlook screened two films – and picked up three prizes.
All Light, Everywhere won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Nonfiction. Directed by Theo Anthony, this is an exploration of “the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice.”
“We always wanted to work with Riel Roch Decter. He is one of the most exciting producers,” Abdalla says of the figure behind such mind-bending recent docs as Crestone (about rappers growing weed in the desert and putting music online) and Shakedown (about an underground lesbian club in LA).
Meanwhile, Writing With Fire, the uplifting story of Khabar Lahariya (KL), a digital news agency in Uttar Pradesh in India run by women journalists from the Dalit community, picked up two awards in Park City: the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award and the Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary.
Both titles have already caught the imagination of buyers. Writing With Fire has been pre-sold to DR Denmark, SVT Sweden, BBC Storyville, EO The Netherlands, YLE Finland via their co-producer Jon Webster, NRK Norway through co-producing partner Sant&Usant, and has signed with Israel’s Yes Docu. The first offers came in at Sundance from France and for theatrical distribution in The Netherlands, ANZ, UK, Singapore and SVOD pan-Asia. US rights are handled by Submarine through Josh Braun.
All Light, Everywhere is likewise casting a glow across the market. CAA is handling North America on the film and a deal with Neon Boutique Label Super Ltd was closed earlier this month. Other early deals will be announced shortly.
“It has been excellent,” Abdalla enthuses about Sundance. “They came up with a good selection of films. Going hybrid was communicated in time so everyone could prepare. It was also a very smart choice to take less films. You could focus and felt you could navigate…it really worked.”
An older title on the Autlook slate, RJ Cutler’s Belushi, about the outrageously behaved comedian and Animal House star John Belushi, is continuing to rack up sales. This has gone to NRK Norway, Channel 8 and Yes Docu in Israel, SVT Sweden, DR Denmark, Finland is in negotiations, Movistar Telefonica has acquired pay TV rights in Spain while digital rights will be sold there to FilmIn. Various other deals are expected to close during EFM.
Meanwhile, Rockfield – The Studio On The Farm, co-produced by ARTE Germany/France and BBC UK, signed with Madman for ANZ, O2 for Brazil, B Side for Taiwan, Telefonica for Spain, Czech TV, and NHK is in negotiations for a theatrical release in Japan. RTV Slovenia, SRF Switzerland, SVT Sweden and NRK Norway are also aboard. There is a first offer from Italy and a North American release will be announced soon.
Abdalla underlines that she is optimistic about 2021. “Yes, audiences are there,” but she adds a note of caution. “A lot of our projects are still not completed because of the pandemic and they [filmmakers] can’t travel and shoot. And we are still waiting to have the [physical] festivals back.”
