04-05-2018

New Europe picks up Cannes-bound THE LOAD

    The Load by Ognjen Glavonic The Load by Ognjen Glavonic (c) Tatjana Krstevski, NON-ALIGNED FILMS

    Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales announced that it has signed a world sales deal for Ognjen Glavonić debut film The Load, set to world premiere in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.

    The Load is a story of Vlada, who works as a truck driver during the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. Tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, trying to make his way in a country scarred by the war. He knows that once the job is over, he will need to return home and face the consequences of his actions.

    The Load is a smart political thriller, which relies heavily on the central performance of the charismatic lead actor Leon Lucev (Circles, On the Path, Grbavica), who plays the driver - a Balkan everyman facing a moral dilemma, who needs to provide for his family and stay human despite the circumstances.

    The film is produced by Kinorama and coproduced by Non-Aligned Films, Cinema Defacto, Three Gardens Film with support of CNC – aide aux cinémas du monde, HAVC, Eurimages, Visions Sud Est, Hubert Bals Fund, Film Center Serbia,, AP Vojvodina, Doha Film Institute.

    Jan Naszewski, CEO of New Europe: "The Load is a true discovery for us. We feel that the central performance by Leon Lucev really carries the film in the same way the protagonists of Son of Saul and The Guilty did.”

    New Europe Film Sales’ recent line-up includes 2018 Sundance-favorites Pity by Babis Makridis and Loveling by Gustavo Pizzi and Berlinale Generation selection Gordon & Paddy by Linda Hambäck, as well as the upcoming County by Ramsdirector Grimur Hakonarsson, which the company is pre-selling ahead and at Marche du Film.