Sony buys Hungarian Cannes contender

Cannes (MTI) – Sony Pictures Classics has acquired US distribution rights to the Hungarian film competing for the Palme d’Or, “Son of Saul” (in Hungarian: Saul fia).

The distribution agreement was signed by the film’s international distributor, Films Distribution, at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety reported on Sunday.

Director Laszlo Nemes Jeles said after the film’s screening on Friday that the international distributor had received so many offers for the picture’s distribution rights that he had had to “switch off his phone”. The director said American professionals see the film as a potential contender at the next Academy Awards, which was why the US bought its distribution rights.

“Son of Saul” takes place at the Auschwitz concentration camp and tells the story of the final day-and-a-half in the life of Saul Auslaunder, a fictional Jewish member of the death camp’s Sonderkommando charged with aiding with the disposal of gas chamber victims.

Canal+
Cannes 2015, Interview with English subtitle:

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters