Operation Napoleon, an Iceland-set conspiracy thriller from director Óskar Þór Axelsson (Black’s Game) has racked up international sales ahead of its market bow at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin later this month.
Sales outfit Beta Cinema unveiled on Thursday that the film has been picked up by Mediawan for France, Twelve Oaks in Spain, Hagi Film in Poland and by Tohokushinsha for Japan. Smaller sales include the territories of the former Yugoslavia (MegaCom) and Taiwan (AV-Jet).
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Icelandic crime author Arnaldur Indriðason, Operation Napoleon is a high-concept conspiracy thriller centered on an old German World War II plane containing dangerous secrets, is discovered as it emerges from a melting glacier in Iceland, where it crossed back in 1945.
Icelandic newcomer Vivian Ólafsdóttir (It Hatched) stars in the English-language adaptation alongside an international cast including Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen, Riviera and Cheaters actor Jack Fox and German star Wotan Wilke Möhring (Valkyrie, Pandorum).
The $7 million production was produced and financed out of Europe by Iceland’s Sagafilm and Splendid Film in Germany. Sam Films pre-bought the movie for Iceland, where it bows on Feb. 3. Splendid and distributor 24 Bilder will do a German release on March 9. German public broadcaster ZDF has local free-TV rights.
Beta, which is handling worldwide sales, will screen the film for international buyers at Berlin’s EFM. Beta holds a 25 percent stake in Sagafilm through its Scandinavian division Beta Nordic Studios.
Operation Napoleon is produced by Tinna Proppé and Hilmar Sigurðsson of Sagafilm, alongside Dirk Schweitzer and Anita Elsani for Splendid. Kjartan Thor Thordarsson, Ralph Christians and Adalsteinn Jóhannsson serve as executive producers.