Neon has picked up U.S. rights to hot Cannes title “The Worst Person in the World,” directed by Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier (“Reprise,” “Oslo, August 31st”), from French sales agent mk2 Films.
The romantic comedy, which is playing in competition, rounds out Trier’s Oslo Trilogy, which began with “Reprise” in 2006 and continued with “Oslo, August 31st” in 2011.
The script was co-written by Trier with regular collaborator Eskil Vogt, and the film stars Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjøreby, and Vidar Sandem.
“The Worst Person in The World” tells the story of a quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo. It chronicles four years in the life of Julie (Reinsve), a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
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Following its July 8 premiere in Cannes, “Worst Person” became one of the buzziest titles at the festival. Variety described the pic as a piercing study of millennial unrest, with critic Guy Lodge billing the film as a “widely accessible arthouse pleasure [that] deserves to become a touchstone film for many an ’80s and ’90s baby.”
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Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal for Neon with Fionnuala Jamison from mk2 Films. The film is produced by Oslo Pictures, mk2 Productions, Film I Väst, Snowglobe and B-Reel. Thomas Robsahm and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar serve as producers and executive producers are Dyveke Bjørkly Graver, Tom Erik Kjeseth, Eskil Vogt and Trier.
The pic has also sold into arthouse streamer Mubi for the U.K., Ireland and India, according to Screen International.
Neon CEO Tom Quinn has been in Cannes for the duration of the event. The company has three titles at the fest this year: Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria” starring Tilda Swinton, Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” and the anthology feature “The Year of the Everlasting Storm.” The company’s slate also includes Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” which will premiere in September at the Venice Film Festival, as well as Jamila Wignot’s “Ailey,” Céline Sciamma’s “Petite Maman,” and Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee,” which was executive produced by Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
The Cannes Film Festival kicked off on July 6 and will come to a close on Saturday (July 17).
Ramin Setoodeh contributed to this report.