LONDON — Antipode Sales & Distribution has picked up global sales rights to Andrei Konchalovsky’s “The Postman’s White Nights,” which will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5.
The pic is the filmmaker’s 41st feature film and his fifth visit to the Venice Lido, having previously been awarded the Grand Special Jury Prize for “House of Fools” (2002) and the Golden Lion for “Ivan’s Childhood” (1962).
Other Konchalovsky pics to screen in Venice’s competition were “Maria’s Lovers” (1984) and The First Teacher (1965).
The film, which features non-actors, tells the story of a postman (Aleksey Tryapitsyn), who lives in a remote village in northern Russia. He is the village’s sole connection to the outside world, relying on his motorboat to bridge the gap. But when his boat’s motor is stolen and the woman he loves escapes to the city, the postman follows, desperate for a new adventure and a new life.
In a statement, the director described the film as “an attempt to see the world surrounding us through the eyes of a ‘newborn.’ An attempt to unhurriedly study life.”
