Yellow Affair Board Jonas Rothlander’s ‘Power of Love’

Global sales shingle The Yellow Affair has acquired world rights to the modern love story “Power of Love” from German helmer Jonas Rothlander, whose breakthrough movie “Fado” nabbed a Silver Hugo in Chicago and German Film Critics for Best Feature debut.

Julia M. Müller and Luisa Leopold are producing for Germany’s StickUp Film Productions, co-producing with Misha Zari and Finland’s BUFO’s Mark Laof (“The Gravedigger’s Wife”).

The director’s sophomore feature film explores the power dynamics of a couple and the social norms expected of a male/female relationship.

Topping the feature are Sarah Kotkaniemi (“Deadwind,” “Bordertown”) and Nicola Perrot (“Marie-Antoinette,” “Der Hamster”) as Sarah and Robert, both in their 30s, who embark on an expansive summer vacation in the Finnish archipelago.

Their love is a constant game with gender role clichés, yet behind unconventional facades, they struggle with their own insecurities. Stranded on the island and overwhelmed by its rugged nature, the pair begin to return to the same ancient relationship patterns they so desperately try to avoid.

Outie Menpa (“Hit Big”), Timo Torikka (“Psych”), Elmer Back (“Next of Kin”) and Cecilia Paul (“Helsinki Syndrome”).
Yellow Affair’s New York-based CEO Carolina Dwyer and London-office representative and head of sales Steven Bestwick said they’ve been tracking the project from the start and are excited to team up with Rothlander: “His ability to craft compelling and intelligent stories make him a talent to watch. We were also excited by the intensity of this story and the chemistry between Sarah and Robert who each struggle to maintain an emotional balance in a relationship story that is raw, emotional and contemporary.”
The film was co-financed by Yle, Arte and Rundfunk Berlin-Branderburg (RBB) and received support from the Finnish Film Foundation, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, Deutscher Filmförderfonds, Eurimages and the Western Finland Film Commission. BUFO’s own distribution arm B-Plan will handle the theatrical Bow and Missing Films German distribution in Finland this fall.

According to Dwyer and Bestwick, “Power of Love” is “a great fit with The Yellow Affair’s slate as a high-quality film with a provocative and thought-provoking edge that brings it into a commercial space.”

The feature will debut at the upcoming Berlinale European Film Market (February 15-22).

Ahead of Berlin, Dwyer is joining this week’s Gothenburg industry confab TV Drama Vision (Feb. 1-2) with Yellow Affair’s upcoming Swedish drama comedy “Keep It Together” (“Halla Samman”), an anagram for Swedish public broadcaster SVT. created by .

The eight-part family drama is penned by head writer Eric Ahrnbaum (“The Bridge,” “Thin Blue Line”), with Maria Blom (“The Delecarlians”) serving as concept director. The series charts the changing relationship of two adult sisters as they confront their father’s Alzheimer’s disease.

The Yellow Affair has started talks about the series, due out this fall on SVT.

The current slate of sales organizations includes Season 2 of Intl. Emmy-winning transgender drama ‘Rurangi’, picked up by Hulu in the US, Latvian Oscar contender Viesters Kairis’ “January”, and Aleksei Salmenpera’s Finnish coming-of-age “Bubble”.