SquareOne aquires Woman In Gold for Germany, Austria

German distributor SquareOne Entertainment has acquired all German-speaking European rights, excluding Switzerland, to historical drama Woman In Gold from The Weinstein Company (TWC).

The deal was negotiated by Al Munteanu and Ingrid Pittana for SquareOne Entertainment with TWC.

Directed by Simon Curtis‘ (My Week With Marilyn), the film stars Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Brühl. Co-stars include Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern, Katie Holmes and Max Irons.

The film will have its world premiere at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival (Feb 5-15) where the film debuts as a Berlinale Special Gala.

Playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell wrote Woman In Gold, which is produced by David M. Thompson for Origin Pictures and Kris Thykier, executive produced by Harvey and Bob Weinstein for TWC, and BBC Films’ Christine Langan.

It tells the true story of Maria Altmann (Mirren), an octogenarian Jewish refugee, who takes on the government to recover family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt’s famous painting The Lady in Gold. Reynolds plays young lawyer Randy Schoenberg who helps her battle the Austrian establishment and the US Supreme Court.

SquareOne president Al Munteanu described the film as a “powerful and moving story of one woman’s fight to reclaim what is rightfully hers”. The distributor also has Anton Corbijn’s Life on its slate, which will also debut at the Berlinale.

Recent releases by the independent arthouse distributor include The Imitation Game, which has grossed more than $1.51m and recorded over 170,000 admissions after a week on release. with over 170k admissions.

Previous titles include All Is Lost, Philomena and Yves Saint Laurent.

Upcoming films include Jane Got A Gun starring Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor; Unlocked starring Orlando Bloom and Noomi Rapace; Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young starring Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts; Boychoir starring Dustin Hoffman; and Eli Roth’s Knock Knock starring Keanu Reeves.