The Playmaker has closed several distribution deals for the World War II drama “Never Alone,” directed by Klaus Härö.
“Never Alone” has been picked up for distribution in Bulgaria (Beta Film), India (BookMyShow), Latin America (Encripta) and Spain (Twelve Oaks). As previously announced, the rights in North America were acquired by Menemsha. The film was released in Finland in January by Nordisk Films.
“Never Alone,” based on the life of Abraham Stiller, tells the story of Jewish refugees seeking safety in Finland during World War II. As Nazi influence grows, Stiller, a Jewish leader in Helsinki, must risk everything to protect his community.
The cast is led by Ville Virtanen, Nina Hukkinen and Rony Herman. The film is produced by Ilkka Matila of MRP Matila Röhr Prods., in co-production with Samsara Filmproduktion, Taska Film, Penned Pictures and Hobab.
It is supported by the Finnish Film Foundation, the Austrian Film Institute, ÖFI+, ORF, the Estonian Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, Estonia cash rebate, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Nordisk Film, Playmaker Munich, SVT, ARTE, NDR, Creative Europe/Media, Nordic Film & TV Fund, Barona, Cyberdune Investment, Konstsamfundet and Church’s Media Foundation.
Härö’s film 2015 drama “The Fencer” was Golden Globe-nominated and Oscar-shortlisted for foreign-language film. Härö’s other features include “Elina” (2003), “Mother of Mine” (2005), “Letters to Father Jacob” (2008) and “My Sailor, My Love” (2022).
The Playmaker represents festival titles like “Curveball” by Johannes Naber, Locarno contender “Monte Verita” by Stefan Jäger and Venice and Toronto contender “Die Andere Heimat” by Edgar Reitz, as well as family films like “Help I Shrunk My Teacher” by Sven Unterwaldt, “Pirate Mo” by Florian Westermann, and “Ploey — You Never Fly Alone” by Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson, Gunnar Karlsson and Ives Agemans, and genre movies like “Paws” by Lukas Rinker, “Rubikon” by Leni Lauritsch and “Holy Shit” by Lukas Rinker.
