Janus Films Acquires Kaurismäki’s Latest

We’re pleased to announce that Janus Films has picked up the North American rights to Aki Kaurismäki’s Le Havre, which, as you may have heard, premiered to much acclaim in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) Prize. With Le Havre—a spirited, sharply political, and sweetly funny tale about a struggling shoe shiner who befriends and aids a young African refugee on the run from the law—Kaurismäki has returned to feature filmmaking in France for the first time since his 1992 art-house hit La vie de bohème. Le Havre, which examines immigration issues in contemporary Europe with the Finnish director’s trademark whimsy, stars André Wilms, Kaurismäki standby Kati Outinen, and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. The film will likely see a theatrical release in fall 2011.