Beta Cinema closes fresh sales for Up Against It ahead of Toronto gala
Beta Cinema has sold Trudie Styler's comedy Up Against It to five more buyers ahead of its world premiere, according to Deadline.
The film will bow as a gala presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival, a high-profile slot reserved for awards-season titles and star-led premieres. TIFF lists Styler as director and gives the film a runtime of 122 minutes in English.
The new deals cover Spain, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and Latin America. In those markets the local distributors — the companies that buy the right to put a film into cinemas in their own territory — are Youplanet Pictures/Caramel in Spain, Spentzos Film in Greece, Mars Production in Turkey, Beta Film in Bulgaria and A2 Filmes in Latin America, according to Deadline.
The tally now tops 50 territories. Beta Cinema, the Munich-based sales agent handling international rights, had already placed the film in Australia and New Zealand with Kismet, the Middle East with Front Row, Italy with Rai Cinema and Scandinavia with SF-Studios, according to Deadline.
Earlier sales also included Benelux with Paradiso, Poland with Best Film, the Czech Republic and Slovakia with Foxx, the former Yugoslavia with MCF and Hungary with Cinetel. The project first surfaced at the post-production stage at last year's Toronto festival under the title Rose's Baby, according to Deadline.
The story centres on a divorced couple sharing custody of their only child, Rose. Antonio Banderas and Eva Birthistle play the parents, with Úrsula Corberó, Arinzé Kene, Forest Whitaker, Richard E. Grant and Eden Hamilton in support, according to Deadline.
TIFF describes it as a wickedly clever comedy built around post-marital friction and parental devotion. The film is produced by Maven Screen Media and Tempo Productions, with Dante Spinotti as director of photography and Walter Fasano and Nathan Nugent as editors, according to Deadline.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Festival premieres often trigger the next round of buying, as local distributors watch gala screenings before committing. A sale past 50 territories before the first public show gives the film a wide base to launch from.
