18/03/2005

Sergio Castellito’s award-winning film Don’t Move (Non ti muovere) is the first feature film that Dogwoof Pictures (DWP), the new UK distribution company specialized in foreign language films is releasing today in UK cinemas.
Following a charity premiere last night in London attended by the lead actress Penelope Cruz, Don’t Move opens in the UK on six prints.
The next films distributed by DWP include the Spanish/Azerbaijan film Dias de Fútbol (Football Days) by David Serrano set for a UK release on 6 May 2005, and the Danish critical and box office success King’s Game Kongekabale) by Nikolaj Arcel.

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DWP is run by financial specialist and CEO Andy Whittaker, the Spanish Head of acquisitions Anna Godas who has an in-depth knowledge of film development and European co-production, and Head of sales Anne Howard, an ex film reviewer with an experience in marketing, sales and film distribution.
Whittaker explained Cineuropa why he set up DWP and what makes his company different from the several other small art-house distributors in the UK: “I love European films and have always been amazed to see that so many excellent films were never released in the UK. I thought there was a real market for quality films for intelligent people and decided with my financial background to tackle the UK market. What we are offering is smart marketing campaigns and PR work well-targeted at specific audiences because it takes more efforts to promote European films”.
For Anna Godas, the UK is a very unusual country and market where European films are something unique, a real art form, whereas in other European countries European films are just ‘normal’ films. Which is makes the UK market so tough. But she is also very confident that with the proper marketing and positioning of their films, DWP will carve out a niche for itself in the UK marketplace. And thanks to her Spanish background and personal knowledge of many European producers, she says she can have first hand information on potential pick-ups for DWP.
In order to buy the best films for the UK but also for several territories, DWP has set up private arrangements with similar distribution companies in Germany, France, Italy and Spain (no name could be disclosed yet), to exchange marketing tips and industry information. Whittaker said he intends to develop this type of partnership with distributors from other countries and was welcoming any proposal from new potential European partners.