EXCLUSIVE: Following its highly anticipated Special Gala premiere at the Berlinale, Bankside has successfully secured numerous international sales for Ido Fluk’s Köln 75.
The film, which received a positive reception, will be distributed across various territories including Bulgaria (Beta), Canada (Level Film), Czech/Slovak (AQS), Eastern Europe (except Poland where HBO holds the rights), the former Yugoslav countries (Discovery), France (Metropolitan), Hungary (Budapest Film), Israel (Naschon/Red Cape), Italy (Lucky Red), the Middle East (Front Row), Scandinavia (SF Studios), South Korea (The Coup), and Spain (Selecta Vision).
Alamode Film will manage the distribution across German-speaking Europe, planning a release across approximately 150 screens starting in March. September Film will handle the release in the Benelux region, and Madness will distribute in Poland. Negotiations are currently underway to finalize distribution deals in the UK and the US.
The film, in both English and German, dives into the backstory of one of the most iconic jazz albums ever recorded, Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert. It explores the tumultuous events that nearly prevented the concert from taking place and the determination of a remarkable German teenager, Vera Brandes. Despite still being a high school student, Vera daringly organized and promoted the concert in Cologne, risking everything to facilitate the creation of this musical masterpiece.
Mala Emde stars as Vera Brandes in the film, with John Magaro portraying the legendary Keith Jarrett and Michael Chernus playing a fictional music journalist named Michael Watts.
The supporting cast features notable actors such as Alexander Scheer, Ulrich Tukur, Jördis Triebel, Susanne Wolff, Leo Meier, Shirin Eissa, and Enno Trebs.
Produced by Sol Bondy and Fred Burle from One Two Films, known for their recent work on Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider which premiered at the Cannes competition in 2022 and won a Best Actress award. Bankside Films is overseeing the global sales of the film.
New York-based writer-director Ido Fluk is also in the process of developing his HBO series, Empty Mansions, alongside Joe Wright and Fremantle. He previously co-wrote and directed the Tribeca competition film, The Ticket, which starred Dan Stevens and Malin Akerman.
Executive producers for the film include Oren Moverman and Lillian LaSalle, along with Annegret-Weitkämper Krug, Paul Hudson, Rain Rannu, and Eiko Mizuno-Gray as the associate producer.
The film has received considerable financial support from Polish and Belgian funds, including the Polish Film Institute, Lodz Film Fund, Screen Flanders, and The Belgium Tax Shelter. Co-producers include Ewa Puszczyńska of Extreme Emotions and Dries Phlypo, Erik Glijnis, and Leontine Petit of Lemming Film Belgium, with additional support from German distributor Alamode. Funding also comes from European broadcasters WDR, SR, and ARTE, as well as Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFF Bayern, DFFF, and Eurimages.
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