‘The Light’ Producers Gold Rush Pictures Ink Slate Deal With Hype Studios (EXCLUSIVE)
Independent international production company and financier Gold Rush Pictures has signed a deal with Ilya Stewart’s Hype Studios to participate in financing and co-producing a slate of at least five feature films, Variety can exclusively reveal.
The news comes ahead of the world premiere of Tom Tykwer’s contemporary German drama “The Light” (pictured), which was co-produced by Gold Rush Pictures and will open the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 13.
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Two of the five titles on the companies’ slate will be collaborations with the Polish screenwriter-director and two-time Berlinale prizewinner Ma?gorzata Szumowska (“Body,” “Mug”), including “The Gambler Wife,” a dark comedy about Russian literary figures Anna and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The anticipated feature, which was announced in Variety, is due to begin principal photography this spring. A second feature from Szumowska is currently in development.
Rounding out the slate are three titles with long-time Hype Studios collaborator Kirill Serebrennikov (“Limonov: The Ballad,” “Tchaikovsky’s Wife”), whose previous four features — all produced by Hype’s Ilya Stewart — premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Among them are the upcoming “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele,” which stars August Diehl (“A Hidden Life”) as the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII. The film, which is based on Olivier Guez’s bestselling novel and wrapped shooting last year, focuses on Mengele’s fugitive years in South America and is told from his point of view.
The second project, previously announced in Variety and currently in pre-production, will be Serebrennikov’s first film in the French language. The third project with the celebrated Russian auteur will be a feature film in the English language, currently in early stages of development.
As Variety previously revealed, Gold Rush Pictures signed a deal with Germany’s X Filme Creative Pool to participate in financing and co-produce the next three projects written and directed and/or produced by Tykwer, following on the company’s investment in his Berlinale opener “The Light.”
The German-language film stars Lars Eidinger (“Dying,” “Persian Lessons”) and Nicolette Krebitz (“AEIOU,” “Wild”) as Milena and Tim, the 40-something parents of irate 17-year-old twins. Tala Al-Deen (“Tatort”) portrays Farrah, their housekeeper, who challenges the family in unexpected ways but turns out to have her own agenda.
Speaking to Variety about the partnership, Hype Studios’ Ilya Stewart said: “From our first conversations with Vladimir Zemtsov, founder of Gold Rush Pictures, it became evident that we see the future of the film industry in a similar way, while remaining true to both our passion in collaborating with visionary filmmakers, which remains the central idea of Hype Studios. We look forward to bringing these fantastic stories to life as a first step, and hopefully many more in the future.”
Vladimir Zemtsov added: “At GRP, we are committed to supporting bold, original voices in cinema, and this partnership with Hype Studios is a natural extension of that vision. Ilya and his team have built a remarkable slate of projects, and we are excited to collaborate on these films and beyond.”
Launched in 2021, Gold Rush Pictures’ first co-financed and co-produced feature was Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero,” which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. The company is also co-financing and co-producing “The Entertainment System is Down,” from two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben ?stlund, and Brian Cox’s directorial debut “Glenrothan,” currently in post-production.
Hype Studios was launched in 2022 by producer Ilya Stewart, whose credits include Vadim Perelman’s Berlin selection “Persian Lessons,” Mona Fastvold’s Venice player “The World To Come,” and Zach Wigon’s “Sanctuary,” featuring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Upcoming projects on the company’s slate include “The Revolution According to Kamo,” an epic drama about the early life of Joseph Stalin from “Pieces of a Woman” director Kornél Mundruczó.
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