Austrian documentary sales powerhouse Autlook has been racking up sales on Ruth Beckermann’s Favoriten, which premiered in the Berlinale Encounters programme last month. It will also screen at the upcoming CPH:DOX in the Artists & Auteurs section.
Autlook has now closed deals for theatrical distribution with FilmIn (Spain), Against Gravity (Poland), Grand Film (Germany), Vertigo (Czech and Slovak Republic, Hungary), Discovery (former Yugoslavia), Cinema Delicatessen (Benelux) in collaboration with Dalton, Ost For Paradis (Denmark), Lev (Israel), Ambulante (Mexico), and Filmladen in Austria.
Autlook is also reporting strong interest from Taiwan, Japan, and the USA.
The fly-on-the-wall film follows a class of kids aged seven to 10 over three years at a school in Vienna. Most are from tough working class backgrounds. Few have German as their first language. The children are guided by their inspirational teacher teacher Ilkay Idiskut as she helps them deal with a very challenging educational system.
Screen’s review described the doc as “endearing, and often surprisingly insightful.”
The releases for Favoriten are scheduled from late autumn 2024 to spring 2025.
Autlook has also recently boarded No Other Land for international sales and festivals, along with Cinetic Media. The Palestinian-Israeli co-production won Best Documentary and the Panorama Audience Award at Berlinale.
The Vienna-based company’s slate includes Sundance hit Ibelin by Benjamin Ree; SXSW title Omar And Cedric: If This Ever Get Weird, and Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari by Giangiacomo de Stefano and Valentina Zanella.
Notable Autlook titles last year included Asmae El-Moudir’s The Mother Of All Lies and Anna Hints’ Smoke Sauna Sisterhood. At CPH:DOX next week, its slate also includes Once Upon A Time In A Forest by Virpi Suutari and Motherboard by Victoria Mapplebeck.
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