Altered Innocence acquires award-winning drama “Concrete Night”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Altered Innocence has picked up the U.S. rights to Pirjo Honkasalo’s “Concrete Night”. The film, which received its world premiere in the Masters section of the Toronto Film Festival, will receive a release in January 2017, Variety reports.

The deal was negotiated between Frank Jaffe from Altered Innocence, also an executive with North American distribution company Strand Releasing, and Film Republic’s Xavier Henry-Rashid. Jaffe commented: “I’m beyond excited that I have the chance to expose more people to this stunning and heartbreaking film in the U.S. market.”

“Concrete Night” tells the story of impressionable 14-year-old Simo as he keeps his soon-to-be incarcerated brother company over the course of one night in a beautiful and otherworldly Helsinki. The film screened in over 60 festivals, garnered six Jussi Awards, and was presented as Finland’s official entry to the Academy Awards, as well as winning the ASC Spotlight Award for cinematographer Peter Flickenberg. The film was edited by Niels Pagh Andersen (“The Act of Killing,” “The Look of Silence”).

Honkasalo, whose career spans four decades, is best known for her documentaries. These include the multi-award winning “The Three Rooms of Melancholia,” which launched at Sundance in 2005. “Concrete Night” is written and inspired by the book by her partner, Pirkko Saisio.

The film is produced by Misha Jaari and Mark Lwoff at Helsinki’s BUFO Film, a production company that produces commercials, television and features films. BUFO recently launched Plan-B distribution, whose first releases include Cannes winner “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki,” Finland’s contender for a foreign-language Oscar nomination.