Birgitte Staermose’s debut feature is in competition in Karlovy Vary.

Sales company LevelK has taken on Birgitte Staermose’s debut feature Room 304, which will be in competition in Karlovy Vary (July 1-7).

The ensemble drama is set in a Copenhagen hotel, about a “stewardess desperate for intimacy, an immigrant obsessed with revenge, a hotel manager lost in despair, a wife abandoned by her husband, and a receptionist with blood on his hands.” The cast features David Dencik, Trine Dyrholm, Ariadna Gil, Mikael Birkkjær, Stine Stengade, Magnus Krepper, Lourdes Faberes, Ksenija Marinković and Leon Lučev. Kim Fupz Aakeson wrote the script.

Room 304 is produced by Jesper Morthorst for Alphaville Pictures Copenhagen, co-produced by Igor A. Nola, Suza Horvat for the Mainframe Production (based in Zagreb, Croatia) and executive produced by Alphaville’s Tine Grew Pfeiffer and Christoffer Boe. The film was supported by the Danish Film Institute and Croatian Audio Visual Centre.

LevelK’s Managing Director Tine Klint said: “Birgitte Stærmose has a unique vision and can skillfully pull apart even the most subtle aspects of human nature – such a strong debut leaves us in no doubt that this is indeed a female director to follow and will be a valuable addition to the LevelK Directors label Future Classics.”

Producer Jesper Morthorst added: “LevelK is a perfect fit for Room 304 and Birgitte Stærmose, their focus on each title taken on and their dedication to building up a director’s body of work instills a confidence that this film and Stærmose will be granted the attention they deserve.”

Alphaville also produced Staermose’s award-winning short Out Of Love. The director’s shorts have screened at festivals including Berlin, Rotterdam and Sundance.

The Danish/Croation co-production will be released in October 2011 by SF Film A/S Filmcompagniet.