Music Box Films has acquired two titles for distribution in the U.S., according to The Hollywood Reporter: Eddie - The Sleepwalking Cannibal and The Silence.
Eddie - The Sleepwalking Cannibal, is a Danish / Canadian horror comedy. If the title doesn't provide enough information, the synopsis fills in the blanks:
A once-famous painter rediscovers inspiration when he befriends a sleepwalking cannibal.
Lars Olaafsen , once a young celebrity in the art world is slipping away fast into the land of has-beens. Ronny, his long-time art dealer wants his meal ticket back but Lars refuses to paint. His creativity comes at too high a cost. His inspiration is carnage - blood, guts and limbs - and he's vowed to never go down that dark road again. An overly eager Ronny arranges a job for Matthew teaching art in a small town. It's a "therapeutic measure" - a means to conquer his need to paint while in the "safety" of a country retreat...
Despite the odd assortment of local eccentrics (and a couple of hostile teachers) things look promising overall for Lars at his new job. That is, until he meets 30-year-old Eddie, a brawny mute who attends the school and harbours a dark and sordid secret of his own...
The film played at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, where our own Peter Gutierrez said, in part: "Yes, this Danish-Canadian co-production is pure fun from its first moment to its last (and beyond: stay for the credits), but it's not relying solely on winking, tongue-in-cheekiness. Not even close." His review explains further. You can also check out Peter's interview with director Boris Rodriguez in our archive.
The other acquisition by Music Box, The Silence, impressed ScreenAnarchy's Todd Brown about two years ago: "We first came across word of Baran Bo Odar's The Silence (Das Letzte Schweigen) back in February. Immediately drawn in by the atmosphere of the German language trailer this seemed to be the arrival of a significant new talent, a gut feeling borne out when I had the chance to see the completed film a few months later."
Here's the synopsis:
On a hot summer day, a bicycle is found in a wheat field - the exact scene of a crime committed 23 years ago. This time 13 year-old Sinikka is missing. While the investigator of the unresolved case and a young colleague start their inquest, for Sinikka's parents an agonizing period of waiting and uncertainty begins. The summer heat lies over the modest family homes like a bell jar and, behind the doors, once intact worlds begin to fall apart.
The Silence stars Katrin Sass (Goodbye, Lenin!), Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration), Burghart Klaussner (The White Ribbon) and Wotan Wilke Mohring (Soul Kitchen). (Thanks to THR for credits.)
Specific release plans have not yet been released. Trailers for both are embedded below.