Vitagraph Plots Foreign Language Oscar Nom “Baader-Meinhof Complex” for U.S.

A scene from Uli Edel's ""The Baader-Meinhof Complex." Image courtesy of Vitagraph Films.

2009 Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee “The Baader-Meinhof Complex” will receive a U.S. theatrical release through Vitagraph Films in a deal with Constantin Films for all media rights. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger (2005 Academy Award nominee “Downfall”) and directed by Uli Edel (“Christiane F”), the film dramatizes the history of the real-life West German terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF), which rose to violent action against the German political status quo in the late 1960s. Vitagraph Films currently plans to theatrically platform the release of the film in August 2009 in 18 of the top 20 markets.

With a cast that includes Martina Gedeck (“The Lives of Others”), Moritz Bleibtreu (“Run Lola Run”), Johanna Wokalek (“Aimee and Jaguar”) and Bruno Ganz (“The Reader”), the story tells the story of Ulrike Meinhof, a prominent journalist who forfeited her career and children to engage in anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist acts of resistance. Also in the group were Andreas Baader and other youthful members who went underground, sacrificing leading normal lives, to fight for a more “human society” - through terrorist bombings and bloodshed.

“This is a story that has not been widely told in America,” commented David Shultz, President of Vitagraph Films in a statement. “With the early years of our current century dominated by the aftermath of 9/11, this is an interesting time for audiences to take a look at a previous generation of terrorism - and through it, a complex political world history that continues to reverberate in our times.”

Vitagraph Films LLC is currently distributing “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” “Tokyo!” and “Valentino the Last Emperor.”

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