The Hunt sold to 20 countries

CANNES. Both critics and buyers in Cannes have embraced Vinterberg's "The Hunt".

Thomas Vinterberg's competition film "The Hunt" has been very well-received by both critics and buyers attending the Cannes Film Festival. According to Rikke Ennis, CEO at the film's sales company TrustNordisk, the interest and sales have been massive after the press and official screenings during the weekend:

"The reviews have been overwhelming and so has the interest from buyers. We are happy and proud that this film will get a world-wide release and hope that the international audience will embrace the film as much as the industry here in Cannes."

So far, "The Hunt" has been sold to Italy (BIM Distributione), Russia (Russian Report), Poland (KinoSwiat), Romania (Independenta Film ´97), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Cinemart), Greece (Seven Films), Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay (Speed Well), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Colombia (Babille Ciné), Former Yugoslavia and Albania (Cinemania group), UK (Arrow Films), Benelux (WildBunch) and France (Pretty Pictures).

Critics: Shattering performance by Mads Mikkelsen

"The Hunt" also went down well with most international critics. The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney announces the film Vinterberg's best since "The Celebration" and writes:

"Propelled by Mads Mikkelsen’s shattering performance as the blameless man whose life threatens to be destroyed, the film is superbly acted by a cast that never strikes a false note or softens the impact with consolatory sentiment. The same strengths distinguish Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm’s screenplay, which spins a psychological horror story rooted at every step in credible reality."

Screen's critic Fionnuala Halligan calls the film "a confident return to form" and doesn't rule out a prize on Sunday: "Mikkelsen at least must be a contender for an outstanding performance as Vinterberg’s sacrificial lamb," Halligan writes in her review

Finally, The Guardians Peter Bradshaw praises the film fulsomely:

"Vinterberg really has come storming back with this new movie, easily his best since Festen, and a reminder of his superb gift for unsettling collective drama: it is forthright, powerful, composed and directed with clarity and overwhelming force, yet capable of great subtlety and nuance. … Mikkelsen, an actor still perhaps best known as the Bond villain in Casino Royale, shows just how excellent a performer he is."

"The Hunt" tells the story of a man who fights against a lie that threatens to destroy his life. The film is directed by Thomas Vinterberg, written by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm and produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Morten Kaufmann for Zentropa with support from The Danish Film Institute. TrustNordisk handles international sales.