Since its premiere at the recent Cannes Film Festival where it was selected for Official Competition in the Un Certain Regard section, Skoonheid, directed by South African Oliver Hermanus, has picked up a number of international sales.
Thus far Skoonheid has been sold for release in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. Deals with the United States, Germany and Canada are also in their final stages.
Cape Town based Hermanus is known for his award-winning debut feature, Shirley Adams. Skoonheid is Hermanus’ second film and tells the story of a Bloemfontein family man who becomes dangerously obsessed with the 23-year-old son of an old friend.
The film will have its South African premiere in competition at the 32nd Durban International Film Festival on 23 July and will be released in theatres nationally through Swift 2.0 Distribution on 5 August.
Skoonheid made history at Cannes by becoming the first ever Afrikaans language feature film to be invited into the Official Selection. Hermanus wrote the film at the festival’s writing residence, the Cinefondation, in 2009.
The film was awarded the Queer Palm, by an international jury, during the festival.
Skoonheid is represented internationally by Paris-based sales agent Mk2 films.
