Lena Dunham-Led ‘Treasure’ Sells to Bleecker Street Ahead of Berlin Film Festival Premiere
“Treasure,” a father-daughter road trip drama starring Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry, has sold worldwide rights to Bleecker Street and FilmNation Entertainment.
The movie, formerly titled “Iron Box,” will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Bleecker Street and FilmNation Entertainment, which recently teamed on “Waitress: The Musical,” will co-distribute the movie theatrically later this year in the U.S. and across the globe.
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Julia Von Heinz directed “Treasure” and adapted the screenplay with John Quester. Based on Lily Brett’s novel “Too Many Men,” the 1990s-set story follows American music journalist Ruth (Dunham) and her father Edek (Fry), a Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his homeland of Poland.
As described in the press release, “While Ruth is eager to make sense of her family’s past, Edek embarks on the trip with his own agenda. This emotional, funny culture clash of two New Yorkers exploring post-socialist Poland is a powerful example of how reconnecting with family and the past can be an unexpected treasure.”
The movie is the third part of von Heinz’s “Aftermath Trilogy,” following 2013’s “Hanna’s Journey” and “And Tomorrow the Entire World,” which was Germany’s submission for international feature film at the 2020 Oscars. All three films explore the legacy of Germany’s Nazi past in different ways.
“Treasure” was produced by Fabian Gasmia and Von Heinz under their Seven Elephants banner, and Dunham under her Good Things Going banner. Executive producers include Glen Basner and Ben Browning on behalf of FilmNation Entertainment alongside Bleecker Street’s Andrew Karpen and Kent Sanderson and Good Thing Going’s Michael Cohen. FilmNation is also handling international sales.
Recent releases for FilmNation include John Carney’s Sundance comedy “Flora and Son,” with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Eve Hewson; as well as Christos Nikou’s Fingernails, starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, and Jeremy Allen White. Upcoming features include Sean Baker’s romantic drama “Anora” and Pamela Adlon’s comedy “Babes,” starring Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau/
Bleecker Street recently acquired the U.S. rights to “Rumours” with Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander; and David and Nathan Zellner’s “Sasquatch Sunset,” which will premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Dunham is represented by CAA, ID Public Relations, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox. Fry is represented by CAA in the US and Hamilton Hodell in the UK. von Heinz is represented by CAA in the US and Players Agentur Management in Germany.
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