Sumerian Pictures has acquired the North American rights to the Czech drama “Broken Voices” and plans to release it in theaters this year. Salaud Morsset is in charge of global sales.
The film won the European Cinemas label at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and the Best Film award at the Oldenburg Film Festival.
The film is one of the most nominated films for the next Czech Lion Award, which is awarded by the Czech Film and Television Academy. The film received 13 nominations, including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and several acting and craft nominations, including Kateřina Farbulova, who was nominated for Best Actress.
The film was a box office hit during its local release in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, grossing over 1 million euros ($1.18 million) through its distributor Cinemart.
The film is written and directed by Ondrzej Provaznik.
“Broken Voices” is set in the Czech Republic in the 1990s, at a famous women’s choir. Thirteen-year-old Karolina’s extraordinary voice attracts the attention of a mysterious and charismatic choirmaster. Being chosen felt like a victory until she began to understand the price of that privilege. Inspired by the Bambini di Praga case, the film explores the line where innocence and abuse of power collide.
Isaac Feldberg of RogerEbert.com writes, “Among the first wave of competition works in Karlovy Vary, Ondrzej Provaznik is an exception depicting power and silence in the elite concert section of a Czech girls’ choir.” No other work was as emotionally resonant and quietly tearing as “Broken Voices,” a stark and restrained work that deftly depicts the suffocating tension of pain and despair, the blurred lines and uncomfortable imbalances that can exacerbate abuse within an academic environment.”
In a review for Variety, Peter DeBrugge said, “You may sense echoes of Sofia Coppola’s Impressionist style throughout, especially as The Beguiled’s style, in which a lonely man is surrounded by young women, emphasizes childhood memories that can last a lifetime, such as collecting exotic crystals, riding the subway, and observing adult behavior from across the room.”
Broken Voices has been screened at more than 50 international film festivals, including Palm Springs, Vancouver, Rio, Warsaw and Marrakech, and will next be screened in Tromsø, Trieste and Gothenburg.
Rob Williams, president of content strategy for Sumerian Pictures, negotiated the acquisition with Salaud Morsset Film Sales on behalf of Sumerian Pictures.
“Broken Voices” joins Sumer Pictures’ slate of upcoming theatrical releases, including the romantic comedy “Mile End Kicks,” directed by Chandler Rebak. “The Wolf, the Fox, and the Leopard” directed by David Verbeek. “Horse Girls” directed by Lauren Mayerling. Sumerian Pictures’ recent releases include Ash Avildsen’s Queen of the Rings and Brendan Yates and Pat McCrory’s Turnstile: Never Enough.
