Cohen Media Buys Well-Received Berlinale Pic ‘Persian Lessons’

Cohen Media Group has taken North American rights to Vadim Perelman’s Persian Lessons following its well-received bow at the Berlin International Film Festival this week.

The releaser is planning a late 2020 berth for the movie, which stars Nahuel Pérez Biscayart in the story of  a Belgian Jew who claims to be Persian when he is rounded up and about to face the firing squad. The terrified prisoner desperately tries to save himself by agreeing to teach Farsi – a language he does not know and thus makes up – to an eager-to-learn Nazi transit camp commandant (Lars Eidinger).

The film received a significant standing ovation from the watching audience after premiering at the fest on February 22. It was produced by Moscow-based Hype Film (Leto), and co-produced by Berlin-based LM Media and One Two Films (The Tale) in association with Belarusfilm.

The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, CMG Executive Vice President, and Mathieu Delaunay, Head of Sales for Paris-based Memento Film International.

John Kochman said, “Persian Lessons is a terrific film we’ve been waiting for from Vadim Perelman ever since his amazing debut and we’re thrilled to bring it to a wide audience.”