NORWAY’S OSCAR® ENTRY GROWTH OF THE SOIL TAKES ROOT AROUND THE WORLD AS BETA CINEMA CLOSES MAJOR INTERNATIONAL SALES

Beta Cinema has closed a raft of international deals on GROWTH OF THE SOIL, Hans Petter Moland’s sweeping epic and Norway’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards®. The deals follow the film’s world premiere in Toronto and its acclaimed European premiere at San Sebastián, where it walked away with two major awards. 

The film has sold to Greenwich Entertainment in North America, Neue Visionen in Germany & Austria, Teodora Film in Italy, A Contracorriente Films in Spain, Conic in the UK & Ireland, Cherry Pickers in Benelux, Frenetic Films in Switzerland, Weird Wave in Greece, Scanorama in the Baltics, Vertigo Media in Hungary, Beta Film in Bulgaria, Big Tree Entertainment in India, Falcon Pictures in Indonesia, Imovision in Brazil and Palace Films in Australia & New Zealand. Released throughout Scandinavia by Scanbox Entertainment, the epic love story got off to a strong start in Norway, climbing to #1 at the box office during its opening weekend. 

Following its world premiere in the Special Presentations programme of the Toronto International Film Festival, GROWTH OF THE SOIL celebrated its European premiere in the Main Competition at the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival, winning the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance and the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography. The film has subsequently continued its autumn festival run, including showings at the Warsaw Film Festival, the Rio International Film Festival, the Denver Film Festival, the Mar del Plata International Film Festvial and it also opened the Bergen International Film Festival. It also is shortlisted for this year’s European Film Awards for the Best Feature Film category. 

Based on a Nobel Prize Winning novel, GROWTH OF THE SOIL tells the story of Isak, a man without a past who crosses the mountains in search of somewhere to build a life. High above the tree line, he finds an unforgiving stretch of land and, eventually, Inger, a woman whose resilience matches his own. Together they create a home and family from almost nothing, until time, ambition and a changing world begin to transform both their relationship and the landscape around them.  

GROWTH OF THE SOIL is an epic love story set against the breathtaking yet unforgiving landscapes of Norway’s mountains. Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person in the World, Sense and Sensibility) and former EFP Shooting Star Asta Kamma August (The Hypnosis) star in the leading roles, next to Gard B. Eidsvold (Troll, Quisling, Out Stealing Horses), Anders Baasmo (Kon-Tiki, Welcome to Norway), Oddgeir Thune (Loveable) and Sjur Vatne Brean (Out Stealing Horses, Nr 24).  

Hans Petter Moland, one of Norway’s most internationally recognised filmmakers, previously directed Out Stealing Horses, In Order Of Disappearance, A Somewhat Gentle Man and Zero Kelvin. His films have competed for the Golden Bear four times, and Out Stealing Horses was Norway’s Oscar submission in 2019. Moland co-wrote the screenplay with actor and writer Gard B. Eidsvold. The film was shot by Oskar Dahlsbakken, whose credits include Possession, Munch and The Arctic Convoy, with an original score by Danish composer Kaspar Kaae (Fjord, In Order Of Disappearance). It is produced by Håkon Øverås for 4 ½ Fiction, in co-production with Scanbox.  

GROWTH OF THE SOIL is screening to AMPAS members in New York tomorrow and at the Scanorama Film Festival later this week.