Picture Tree Intl. has taken global sales rights for “The Peacock” by Lutz Heineking Jr. The black comedy is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by German author Isabel Bogdan, which has been published in key European territories. Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer (below).
The film’s cast is filled with German stars including Lavinia Wilson (“What We Wanted,” “Deutschland 86”), Tom Schilling (“Never Look Away,” “Oh Boy”), David Kross (“The Reader,” “The King’s Men”) and Jürgen Vogel (“The Wave,” “The Free Will”). Tobis Film releases the film in Germany on March 9.
When investment banker Linda Bachmann and her team arrive at the country estate of Lord and Lady McIntosh for a team building seminar, the prospects for having a relaxing weekend in Scotland are not good: the annual balance sheet is lousy, the team is keeping a suspicious eye on each other and their boss, and there are rumors that a compliance officer will soon be restructuring the department.
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To make matters worse, the estate is not very comfortable – even the skilled cook Helen can’t hide that fact – and the methods of young seminar leader Rebecca also seem rather questionable. When the Lord’s favorite peacock and the Lady’s favorite goose disappear, further quarrels and chaos are inevitable.
Heineking founded his production company Eitelsonnenschein in 2003. He started his directing career in television with “Endlich Deutsch” (Finally German). “The Peacock” is Lutz’s debut as a feature film director.
The film will be part of PTI’s Berlinale/EFM slate alongside the recently announced John Malkovich vehicle “Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes.”
Its EFM lineup also includes “A Whole Life” by Hans Steinbichler (“The Diary of Anne Frank,” Sky TV series “Das Boot”), which is based on the best-selling novel by Robert Seethaler. The novel has been translated into more than 40 languages, and the feature film is produced by Epo-Film in Austria in co-production with Tobis Film in Germany. Currently in post-production PTI will present a first promo at the EFM. The film’s release is anticipated for late summer/fall 2023 in German-speaking countries.
The first market screenings will take place for the widely presold historical biopic “Alma & Oskar” by Dieter Berner (“Egon Schiele: Death and The Maiden”), starring Emily Cox (“The Last Kingdom”), which explores the turbulent relationship between the Viennese society Grand Dame Alma Mahler and the expressionist artist and enfant terrible Oskar Kokoschka.
PTI has also recently acquired global sales rights to “The Chapel” by Belgian director and writer Dominique Deruddere, whose satirical comedy “Everybody’s Famous!” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
Another recent acquisition is the Göteborg world premiere “The First Snow of Summer” by Chris Raiber. The urban fairy-tale love story is reminiscent of “Amélie” and “Delicatessen.” It stars Verena Altenberger (“The Best of All Worlds,” “Me, We”), Thomas Prenn (“Great Freedom,” “Why Not You”), and Margarethe Tiesel (“Paradise: Love,” “The Golden Glove”).
Following its Tallin Black Night Festival world premiere, “The Chambermaid” is another market premiere in PTI’s EFM lineup.
