Danish newcomer Jannik Johansen's highly anticipated feature debut Stealing Rembrand may be months away from its scheduled domestic release, but it is already picking up considerable buzz following an early screening in London for US buyers, according to the film's producer Thomas Gammeltoft.

The Danish-UK film, a co-production between Gammeltoft's Fine & Mellow and Lene Bausager's UK-based Ugly Duckling Film, is a crime-comedy-drama inspired by the true story of a bunch of hapless thieves who stole two precious paintings in 1999, including a $15m Rembrandt.

According to Gammeltoft (Shake It All About), a print of the film has now been sent to LA, where he expects to get offers for both remake rights and the original Danish language version of the film perhaps even before Cannes.

The 37 year-old Johansen wrote and directed several shorts including A Quiet Death (1997) and Off Track (1999), before assisting first-time directors Anders Thomas Jensen and Hella Joof as assistant director on Flickering Lights (2000) and as technical director on Shake It All About (2001), both major local hits.

Stealing Rembrandt is co-written with the prolific Anders Thomas Jensen (The Green Butchers) and is inspired by the real theft of two precious paintings in 1999. The film follows a group of petty thieves who accidentally steal a Rembrandt worth DKR100m.

Stealing Rembrandt feature an all-star Danish cast including Lars Brygmann, Jacob Cedergren, Nicolas Bro, Nikolaj Coster Waldau, Paprika Steen and Sonja Richter.

It will be released by major Nordisk Film in October.