WME to handle US rights on the Icelandic true-life drama/thriller.

BAC Films has come on board to handle international sales of Baltasar Kormakur’s The Deep, which has its world premiere in Toronto on Sept 7 as a Special Presentation.

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The US rights are handled by WME Entertainment. Europafilm AS, based in Norway, has already boarded Scandinavian rights.

Playwright Jón Atli Jónasson adapted the script with Kormakur.

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson leads the cast in the story, based on astonishing true incidents of 1984, about the sole survivor of a shipwreck who becomes a scientific phenomenon and a national hero after he defies the odds to swim to shore in the deadly cold waters off the coast of Iceland.

Kormakur, who recently had a US hit with Contraband, will attend Toronto on a short break from filming 2 Guns in New Mexico.

The Icelandic director also produces The Deep with his longtime collaborator Agnes Johansen for their company Blueeyes Productions. Norway’s Filmhuset co-produces. Executive producers are Lilja Pálmadóttir and David Linde.

The Deep got a strong response when footage screened during Les Arcs’ Works In Progress presentations in December.