MEDIA RELEASE: Cineflix Rights announces Australia and Spain sales for Leonard Cohen drama So Long, Marianne

Cineflix Rights has announced further international sales for highly anticipated drama So Long, Marianne as the series premieres this fall in Canada, Norway, and Germany. Leading Australian network SBS has acquired the rights to the 8-episode drama while TELEFONICA’s pay TV platform Movistar Plus+ has bought the Spanish rights with both launching this Autumn.

They join the original coproducing partners NRK (Norway) and Bell Media’s Crave (Canada), ITVX for the UK, ARD’s Fabfiction (NDR, SWR, WDR, Germany), Cosmote TV and Star Channel for Greece, and Movies Best HD for Cyprus, VRT Belgium, SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark) YLE (Finland), and RUV (Iceland).

So Long, Marianne tells the legendary love story of Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen, and an extraordinary Norwegian woman, Marianne Ihlen who inspired the titular song. It’s an intimate tale of two lonely people falling in love during a period of their life when they are trying to figure out who they are and their place in the world, while one is becoming one of the most famous singers of all time.

Their story crosses the world, travelling from Norway to Greece, New York and Montreal, with the majority of the series filmed on the picturesque Greek island of Hydra where they lived during the 1960s. There, they joined legendary Australian novelists Charmian Clift and her husband George Johnston, the matriarch and patriarch of a bohemian group of writers, artists, poets, and outcasts who were exploring a new world of free love, drugs, and artistic freedom, but also experiencing the rivalries and jealousy that accompanied their intense, interwoven lives.

Leading the cast are Alex Wolff (A Quiet Place: Day One, Oppenheimer, Hereditary) as Leonard, with Thea Sofie Loch Næss (The Last Kingdom, Delete Me, A Storm For Christmas) playing Marianne. Joining them are Anna Torv (The Newsreader, The Last of Us, Mindhunter) as Charmian Clift, Noah Taylor (Preacher, Peaky Blinders, Game of Thrones) as George Johnston, and Peter Stormare (American Gods, Fargo) as Irving Layton.

James Durie, Head of Scripted, Cineflix Rights said: “So Long, Marianne is one of the most iconic love stories of the last century, set in one of the most beautiful locations in the world, so it’s no surprise it’s been a hit with buyers all over the world. We are delighted to be closing these latest deals with SBS and Movistar and look forward to the reactions of viewers in Spain and Australia to this enthralling and life affirming drama.”

The sale to Movistar Plus+ was brokered by Sabrina Ayala, Sales Consultant, Iberia, Italy, French-speaking Europe and French Canada, and the sale to SBS was closed by Chris Bluett SVP, Sales, Asia Pacific and Benelux.

So Long, Marianne is developed by Ingeborg Klyve (Exit), Øystein Karlsen (Exit, Dag, Lilyhammer, Whitstable Pearl) and Tony Wood (Irvine Welsh’s Crime, Marcella, The Burning Girls) and written for the screen by Øystein Karlsen and Jo Nesbø (Harry Hole, Kingdom, Headhunters). The series is directed by Øystein Karlsen and Bronwen Hughes (Shantaram, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul). So Long, Marianne is co-produced by Redpoint Productions, Tanweer Productions, and C3 Media. The series is produced by Ingeborg Klyve and Glenn Lund. The Executive Producers are Ales Ree for NRK, Richard Tulk-Hart and Tony Wood for Buccaneer, Vegard Stenberg Eriksen and Ingeborg Klyve for Redpoint Productions, Pablo Salzman and André Barro for C3 Media, and Dionyssis Samiotis and Nancy Kokolaki for Tanweer Productions. Cineflix Rights is the exclusive worldwide distribution partner.

So Long, Marianne is produced with the support of the Norwegian Film Institute, Creative Europe MEDIA, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, and Rogers Cable Network Fund.

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