Silent City coming to Utrecht

by Boyd van Hoeij

16/08/2012 - The film Silent City, from Threes Anna, will have its premiere at the Netherlands Film Festival on 30 September.

It will be released in Dutch cinemas by A-Film Distribution one week later, on 4 October.

The film is an adaptation of the Anna’s novel of the same name, and is set mainly in Tokyo, where Dutchwoman Rosa starts an apprenticeship with one of Japan’s most famous fish chefs.

This is Anna’s second film after her 2007 debut, The Bird Can’t Fly, which starred Barbara Hershey.

The story of Silent City revolves around cultural differences between East and West, as Rosa tries to master not only the art of preparing fish but also surviving in a culture where something (for her) as straightforward as eye contact is something that needs to be earned.

Actress Laurence Roothooft stars as Rosa in her first major feature role. Roothooft has mainly done theatre in both the Netherlands and Flandres.

She’ll be flanked by an international cast that includes Makoto Makita as her master, as well as Shinji Otani, Ayako Kobayahsi, Yukari Uekawa and Hubert Fermin.

Silent City was produced by Hanneke Niens for her outfit KeyFilm. The film was co-produced by Luxembourg production house Samsa Film, the Belgians of Skyline Entertainment and Dutch broadcasting organisation Avro.

The production was backed financially by Netherlands Film Fund, CoBO Fund, Film Fund Luxembourg and the Belgian Tax Shelter.

International sales are handled by NonStop Entertainment in Sweden.