Cohen Media Group Buys North American Rights to ‘Britt-Marie Was Here’ From SF Studios (EXCLUSIVE)

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to Tuva Novotny’s to “Britt-Marie Was Here,” the Swedish comedy-drama that is based on a bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman, the author of “A Man Called Ove.”

Represented in international markets by SF Studios, “Britt-Marie Was Here” stars Pernilla August as a 63-year-old woman who leaves her husband after 40 years of marriage and is forced to reconsider her life. The film also stars Peter Hamer.

“We fell instantly in love with ‘Britt Marie’ and so will American audiences as soon as they discover her,” said John Kochman, executive vice president at Cohen Media Group.

has also sold the film to Germany (Prokino), Spain (Watson and Holmes), Japan (Shochiku), South Korea (KTH), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Iceland (Myndform), Baltics (Estinfilm), former-Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Ascot Elite) and Hungary (Cirko Film).

Anita Simovic, head of international sales at SF Studio, said the film was attractive to distributors around the world because Backman’s book is a bestseller, while his novel “” had been adapted into a hit film that also earned an Oscar nomination. “Ove” is being remade in English by Tom Hanks and SF Studios. Simovic said “Britt-Marie Was Here” could also be perceived as a female twist on “A Man Called Ove.”