05/05/2023 - The picture, sold by LevelK, stars Crispin Glover as a travelling magician who finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of the hotel he just slept in

Crispin Glover in Mr. K (© Kris Dewitte/Lemming Film/A Private View)

LevelK has boarded world sales for Tallulah Schwab’s drama Mr. K, which is currently in post-production. The director’s most recent effort was her feature Confetti Harvest [+see also:
trailer
film profile], screened in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlinale and winner of the Award for Best European Debut Film at the Zlín Film Festival in 2015. The news was first reported by Screen International.

The cast is toplined by US actor Crispin Glover (Back to the Future, the series American Gods), who portrays the title character, a travelling magician who finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of the hotel he just slept in. His attempts to get out only entangle him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants. The script was penned by Schwab herself. The other confirmed cast members include Sunnyi Melles (Triangle of Sadness [+see also:
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interview: Ruben Östlund
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile]), Fionnula Flanagan (the series Smother), Bjorn Sundquist (Wild Men [+see also:
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interview: Thomas Daneskov
film profile]), Dearbhla Molloy (the series Coronation Street), Barbara Sarafian (the series Rintje) and Sam Louwyck (Luka [+see also:
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interview: Jessica Woodworth
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Mr. K is being co-produced by Lemming Film (Netherlands), A Private View (Belgium), The Film Kitchen (Netherlands), Take Film 53 (Norway) and AVRO/TROS (Netherlands). Producing are this year’s Dutch Producer on the Move, Erik Glijnis, as well as Leontine Petit, Dries Phlypo, Judy Tossell, Jan van der Zanden, Ineke Kanters and Turid Oversveen. The project has received backing from the Netherlands Film Fund, the Netherlands Film Production Incentive, the CoBO Fund, AVRO/TROS, Creative Europe, LevelK, Eurimages, Screen Flanders, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, the Belgian Tax Shelter and the Norwegian Film Institute.

“What I have been exploring in Mr. K is the way we try to mould reality into something we can control and understand. How we protect the status quo by surrounding ourselves with others who share our view, making the world bite-size and relatable,” said Schwab.

“Mr. K is simultaneously bizarre and touching; dark and playful. Tallulah’s vision is refreshingly original and boldly cinematic, and she has gathered a superbly rich cast as well as incredible talents around her, such as director of photography Frank Griebe [Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile]], to bring this vision to life. We are thrilled with the results and are excited to see the film take shape over the next few months,” added Glijnis.

Paradiso will release the title in Belgium.