Yahoo Finance Syndicado Snaps Up CPH:DOX Competition Entry ‘Oh, It Hertz!’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Toronto-based Syndicado Film Sales has snapped up world rights to the CPH:DOX competition entry “Oh, It Hertz!” by Norwegian helmer Gunnar Hall Jensen and unveiled the trailer exclusively to Variety.
The film, selected for the Nordic:DOX competition program, is produced by UpNorth Film, the company behind the festival hits “iHuman” (2019), “Golden Dawn Girls” (2017), “Recruiting for Jihad” (2017) and “Two Raging Grannies” (2014).
More from Variety
Syndicado Takes International Rights to 'So Foul a Sky,' a CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
CPH:DOX Lineup Features Films By Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, Spike Lee, Gianfranco Rosi
Dogwoof Takes U.K. Rights to Sundance Doc 'Taming the Garden' (EXCLUSIVE)
“Oh, It Hertz!” explores how sound affects human beings in the most eclectic ways and how it can be used as a weapon in the hands of evil forces. The main protagonist is U.S. born vocalist/musician Laurie Amat, who performed with the cult band “The Residents” at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Passionate about the emotional impact of sound, Amat is worried that the Nazis might have messed about with music, as she has heard of a Nazi conspiracy theory around their alleged changing of music tuning in 1939 – from 432 to 440 Hertz – to manipulate the masses. Gunnar Hall Jensen follows the unconventional Amat on her investigative trip in the universe of sound, as she meets international sound experts from the U.S., U.K. and Norway.
Syndicado Film Sales co-founder Aleksandar Govedarica said he boarded “Oh, It Hertz!” at rough cut stage as it “clearly stood out with its unique characters and atmosphere.”
“It’s so refreshing to see a film focusing on sound in our visually polluted environment. It was an easy decision,” said the sales executive, who claims that “audiophiles and sound enthusiasts will have a field day” by watching it.
“The Nazi manipulation storyline also provides a thrilling plot twist that can certainly appeal to a wider audience. If you ask me, it’s a film for anyone willing to listen!,” he added.
UpNorth producer Christian Aune Falch said the film should “in a very simplistic, yet entertaining way open our eyes and ears to the universe of sound that we have never thought about before.”
Joint producer Torstein Parelius underscored the opportunity for the sound-driven theatrical film to be experienced on the big screen at the Danish hybrid film festival, extended by 10 days (April 21-May 12) to build on the reopening of Danish cinemas from May 6.
“Oh, It Hertz!” was co-produced by Sweden’s Film Västernorrland, with backing from the Norwegian Film Institute, the Arts Council Norway, and Fritt Ord.
Syndicado Film Sales’ CPH:DOX slate takes in two other world premieres at CPH:DOX: the Tribeca Gucci Documentary Fund recipient “The Other Side of the River” by Antonia Kilian (Germany/Finland), vying for the F:ACT award, and “So Foul a Sky” by Álvaro F. Pulpeiro (Colombia/Spain/U.K./Venezuela) unspooling in NEXT:Wave.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
