Andreas Schmied: Last News

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorPicture Tree Intl. has acquired the rights to “Chasing the Line,” which follows the fortunes of downhill skiing legend Franz Klammer during the 1976 Winter Olympics.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Neopol Film, a production company based in Frankfurt, and Munich-based sales agency The Playmaker have teamed for a second time with writer and director Lukas Rinker, following their collaboration on his debut feature, black comedy “Holy Shit!,” which was sold by The Playmaker to multiple territories last year. Producers Tonio Kellner, Andrea Simml and Jakob Zapf will be pitching Rinker’s latest feature film project, eco-horror “Paws,” at Frontières, a market and networking platform focused on genre film financing and co-production between Europe and North America. Frontières is organized by the Fantasia Intl. Film Festival, in partnership with the Cannes Film Market, and takes place on May 20 and 21 in Cannes.

Ed Meza @edmezavarIn telling the story of champion alpine ski racer Franz Klammer, one of Austria’s most revered and beloved sports heroes, director Andreas Schmied forewent the usual biopic tropes, focusing instead on a few fateful days that culminated in his victory at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck. It was that focus that ultimately convinced Klammer to give the film, “Chasing the Line,” a thumbs up.