Following the press and industry screening at the Toronto Film Festival, Beta Cinema announced two major deals for the action-packed English-language resistance epic, "William Tell.” Altitude has secured all rights for the UK and Ireland and SquareOne Entertainment for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Both distributors are targeting a release date in Q1 2025.
Nick Hamm's adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's classic play is fresh out of post-production and features a top-class cast: Claes Bang (“The Square,” “Dracula”) stars in the leading role alongside Connor Swindells (“Barbie,” “Sex Education,” “Emma”), Golshifteh Farahani (“Paterson,” “Extraction”), Jonah Hauer-King (“The Little Mermaid,” “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”), Ellie Bamber (“Moss & Freud,” “Nocturnal Animals”), Rafe Spall (“Life of Pi,” “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “The Big Short”) and Emily Beecham (“The Interpreter,” “Little Joe”), with Academy-Award winner Ben Kingsley (“Gandhi,” “Schindler’s List,” “Iron Man”) and Academy-Award nominee Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Wife”).
Further cast include Solly McLeod (“The Dead Don’t Hurt,” “Tom Jones”), Amar Chadha-Patel (“The Decameron,” “Willow,” “The Creator”), Sam Keeley (“Raw,” “The English Game”), Jake Dunn (“The Ballad of Renegade Nell”) and Tobias Jowett.
Will Clarke, Chairman and co-CEO of Altitude, said: “It’s fantastic to be working with such an incredible team of film-makers and our friends at Beta and we can’t wait to bring the epic and thrilling ‘William Tell’ to audiences in the UK & Ireland.”
Thomas Sierk, Director of Acquisitions & Sales at SquareOne Entertainment, stated: “The production truly succeeds to tell the story of the legendary freedom-fighter William Tell as an exciting, action-packed epic with an outstanding international cast."
Al Munteanu, CEO of SquareOne Entertainment added: "Together with my team, I am thrilled to bring this fantastic production to theaters early next year."
Thorsten Ritter, EVP at Beta Cinema, mentioned: “We are delighted to partner with such highly esteemed distributors for the UK and Germany. The epic tale of ‘William Tell’ presents a rich tapestry of themes and topics, providing a strong foundation for bold and ambitious theatrical campaigns in these two key European markets."
Beta Cinema has already announced deals with SF Studios (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland), Beta Fiction (Spain), Eagle Pictures (Italy), Dutch Filmworks (Benelux), Pris Audiovisuais (Portugal), Monolith Films (Poland), Cinemart (Czech Republic), Blitz (Former Yugoslavia), ADS (Hungary and Romania), Beta Film (Bulgaria), TFG (Greece), Ukraine (Top Film) and The Plot Pictures (Middle East & Turkey) earlier this year.
The screenplay is written by Nick Hamm, adapted from Friedrich Schiller's world-renowned classical play. The narrative unfolds in the 14th Century, when Europe's nations fiercely vie for supremacy within the Holy Roman Empire. The ambitious Austrians, desiring more land, encroach upon Switzerland, a serene and pastoral nation. Amidst this backdrop, William Tell, a formerly peaceful hunter, finds himself forced to take action as his family and homeland come under dire threat from the oppressive Austrian King and his ruthless warlords. Leading his fellow countrymen, Tell embarks on a courageous rebellion, seeking to defend their liberty and stand against the tyrannical forces that seek to subjugate them.
Nick Hamm is a BAFTA award winning director who began his career as resident director for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has directed highly successful feature films for Miramax, Film 4, Pathé and Lionsgate. His track records include Driven, which was selected as the closing film at the Venice Film Festival, Netflix’s White Lines and The Journey which premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. Piers Tempest ("The Wife," "Emily") and Marie-Christine Jaeger-Firmenich ("Gigi & Nate") produce.
Executive Producers include Jon Hamm, David Nichols and Francesco Marras. "William Tell" is a Free Turn Films / Tempo production in association with Beta Cinema, WME Independent, Prime Focus Studios and Groenlandia and Cineroma SRL. The production is supported by IDM Südtirol and the autonomous province of Bozen/Bolzano – South Tyrol and Quebec Film Production Services Tax Credit.
"William Tell" will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival as a Gala Presentation (World Premiere on Tue, Sept 10 at 5:30pm at Roy Thomson Hall) and will celebrate its European premiere at the Zurich Film Festival in October. Beta Cinema handles international rights, alongside WME Independent who represent domestic rights.