Drafthouse Films, the US distributor of Michaël R Roskam’s Best Foreign-language Film Academy Award-nominee Bullhead, has announced that will open the film in selected theatres in New York, Los Angeles and Austin on 17 February. Other US markets will follow in the weeks following the premiere.
Roskam's feature debut was acquired by Drafthouse Films following its US premiere at Fantastic Fest, where it won Best Picture in the AMD/Dell Next Wave Competition, which highlights first-time feature filmmakers. Bullhead has won 25 awards to date including Best Actor prize at Palm Springs IFF 2012 for lead Matthias Schoenaerts for his ‘superb portrayal of an innocent and sensitive man trapped in a truculent body’. The film also won the New Auteurs Audience Award and New Auteurs Critic's Prize For Best Actor at the 2011 AFI Fest in Los Angeles, while Roskam was named one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch.
The distributor considers Bullhead to be 'an underdog pick for Best Foreign-language Film' that 'surprised everyone with its Academy Award nomination. Its journey to the coveted nomination began as an unexpected submission for the category from its home country Belgium, earning its deserved accolades by being a bold, original story.'
Bullhead is an emotionally driven tale of revenge, redemption and fate set against the backdrop of the Belgian bovine growth hormone mafia. It is an exciting tragedy about fate, lost innocence and friendship, about crime and punishment, but also about conflicting desires and the irreversibility of a man’s destiny. Domineering cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Schoenaerts), constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafioso meat trader. When an investigating federal agent is assassinated and a woman from his traumatic past resurfaces, Jacky must confront his demons and face the far-reaching consequences of his decisions.
Bullhead will open on Friday 17 February in New York, Los Angeles and Austin in the following theatres and will expand to new markets following its initial limited release.
New York – AMC Empire and Angelika
Los Angeles – Laemmle Santa Monica, Laemmle NoHo, Laemmle Playhouse and The Cinefamily
Austin – Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar & Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek