Roy Andersson Drama ‘About Endlessness’ Acquired by Magnolia for 2020 Release

Swedish filmmaker won Best Director after film premiered at Venice International Film Festival

About Endlessness
Magnolia Pictures

Magnolia Pictures has acquired the U.S. rights to “About Endlessness,” a Swedish drama from director Roy Andersson, the distributor announced Monday. Magnolia plans to release the film theatrically in 2020.

Andersson, the director of “You, The Living” and “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” won Best Director at the Venice International Film Festival where the film made its premiere. It made its North American premiere at TIFF.

His latest film, “About Endlessness,” is a reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendor and banality. We wander, dreamlike, gently guided by our Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments take on the same significance as historical events: a couple floats over a war-torn Cologne; on the way to a birthday party, a father stops to tie his daughter’s shoelaces in the pouring rain; teenage girls dance outside a cafe; a defeated army marches to a prisoner-of-war camp. Simultaneously an ode and a lament, “About Endlessness” presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.

Magnolia released Andersson’s previous film, “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” in 2015 which emulated the deadpan vignettes of his latest film but was geared more as a comedy.

“Roy Andersson is a cinematic master and he’s crafted another extraordinary film in ‘About Endlessness,’” Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles said in a statement. “We’re honored to be bringing this film to American audiences.”

“I’m so happy that Magnolia will be our U.S. distributor,” Andersson said. “They did a great job releasing my last film, so I’m confident that they will take care of ‘About Endlessness’ in the best possible way. I’m so proud of the new film and very much looking forward to the US release.”

Andersson wrote and directed “About Endlessness.” The movie is a Roy Andersson Filmproduktion AB in co-production with 4 ½ Fiksjon AS, Essential Films, in association with Parisienne de Production, Sveriges Tele-vision AB, Arte France Cinéma, ZDF/Arte, and Film CapitalStockholm Fund.

The film is produced by Pernilla Sandström and Johan Carlsson and co-produced by Philippe Bober and Håkon Øverås. The executive producers are Sarah Nagel and Isabell Wiegand. The film is supported by Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages Council of Europe, Nordisk Film & TV Fund, Norwegian Film Institute, Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia EVP Dori Begley and Magnolia SVP of acquisitions John Von Thaden with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers. Coproduction Office is overseeing international sales.

Variety first reported the news of the sale.

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