Berlin 2013: German Indie Distributor Senator Signs Three-Year Deal With Silver Reel

2:19 AM PST 2/15/2013 by Scott Roxborough

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The agreement includes the hot young fantasy title "Fallen" and Scottish thriller "Under the Skin" starring Scarlett Johansson.

BERLIN -- German indie distributor Senator Entertainment has inked a three-year output deal with Silver Reel for German rights to all international productions backed by the film financing group.

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Senator plans to release three to four Silver Reel-produced titles a year in Germany in the coming years.

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One of the first titles to come under the agreement is Scott Hicks' hotly anticipated romantic fantasy adventure Fallen, based on Lauren Kate's bestselling Southern Gothic teen novel series and billed as a potential successor to the Twilight franchise. Principal photography for Fallen is set to start in the second quarter of this year. Senator will release the film in Germany in 2014.

Another high-profile feature is Under The Skin, a Scottish-set thriller directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson as an alien man-killer who begins to develop a soft spot for her victims.

"With Silver Reel, we have found a partner whose financing activities will secure us early access to successful international film projects, giving us a leg up in the competitive licensing market," commented Senator CEO Helge Sasse on the deal.

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The output agreement is further evidence that Senator is not resting on its laurels after the blockbuster success of French comedy The Intouchables, which earned some $85 million for Senator at the German box office last year, but is using that capital to further expand the company.

"Thanks to their breakout success with titles like Intouchables, the Senator team has earned a lot of cachet in the German market. We look forward to working together in the future," added Silver Reel's Claudia Blumhuber.