EXCLUSIVE: Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Fantastic Fest and Sitges 2023 movie The Invisible Fight from LevelK. Above is a new international teaser for the movie.

The Estonian heavy metal kung fu comedy is written and directed by Rainer Sarnet (November) and got its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival. Kino Lorber is lining up a theatrical, digital, and home video release in 2024.

The Invisible Fight is a satirical take on the martial arts film, paying tribute to the genre’s Chinese wuxia roots through a Northern European story. In the movie, a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border survives a deadly attack but then decides to become a monk and must continually prove along the way that he’s capable of becoming the enlightened man he set out to be. Read the full Deadline Hollywood article here.

International sales and aggregation company LevelK has boarded Danish 3D animation “Mumbo Jumbo.”

The project, which has kicked off its pre-production phase, is based on the beloved children’s book by Jakob Martin Strid (“The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear”). It will be written and directed by Karsten Kiilerich (“Up and Away,” “The Ugly Duckling & Me”) and produced by Anders Mastrup (“Checkered Ninja,” “The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear”) for A. Film Production.

When Mumbo Jumbo magically grows to giant size, he has to go on a dangerous journey with his three friends, to find the scary witch Baba Yaga so she can turn him small again. It is an adventurous journey which might make Mumbo Jumbo small again, but a whole lot bigger on the inside.

A. Film Production is one of Scandinavia’s most prolific animation companies with their CGI and classically animated feature films and TV series having found appreciative audiences over the past 30 years around the world. The company is behind films including “Niko & the Way to the Stars,” “Checkered Ninja,” “The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear,” “Up and Away,” “The Ugly Duckling & Me” and “Asterix and the Vikings.”

Kiilerich said: “When working with animation what I most enjoy is bringing life to illustrated characters, and when the story is presenting such a fabulous gallery of entertaining characters it’s a win-win situation. Another thing I enjoy about Mumbo´s adventure is the quirky and unforeseeable story, which derives from an imaginative and original book.” Read the full Variety exclusive here.

LevelK has boarded international sales for Norwegian family action comedy Viktoria Must Go. 

The film, currently in post-production, is being presented this week in the works-in-progress selections at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films.

Gunnbjörg Gunnarsdottir (Forever And Never) directs and Ole Marius Elvestad produces for På Film. Einar Loftesnes (The Tunnel) serves as executive producer, and the film is supported by Mediefondet Zefyr, Scandinavian Film Distribution, LevelK and Vestnorsk filmsenter.

Scandinavian Film Distribution has scheduled the local release for February 2024.

The film follows siblings Hedvig and Henrik who decide to hire a hitman to get rid of their annoying stepmother Viktoria.

The cast features Ine Marie Wilmann (Troll), Leo Ajkić (In Order Of Disappearance), Morten Svartveit (The Innocents) and Agnete Haaland (The Child Wanderers).

Gunnarsdottir co-wrote the script with Rolf Magne Golten Andersen (Headhunters).

LevelK also has two of its completed titles, Four Little Adults and Sea Sparkle, screening at Haugesund. Read the Screen Daily exclusive here.

LevelK has boarded “The Invisible Fight,” Estonian director Rainer Sarnet’s kung fu comedy set in an Orthodox monastery in the former Soviet Union. The film world premieres Aug. 11 in the main competition of the Locarno Film Festival.

“The Invisible Fight” is set in 1973 on the Soviet-Chinese border, where Private Rafael is on guard duty when his border post is attacked by a band of Chinese warriors schooled in the ancient art of kung fu. The only one to miraculously survive, Rafael, is fascinated by the long-haired, black-clad, kung fu hippies flying through the treetops while blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio. He’s suddenly struck by a revelation: he, too, wants to become a kung fu warrior.

Faith leads Rafael to an Orthodox monastery where the black-clad monks do their training, but his road to achieving the almighty power of humility required is long, winding and full of adventures. Speaking to Variety ahead of the film’s premiere, Sarnet said that kung fu mythology and the rules of an Orthodox monastery made for a perfect fit. Read the full Variety article and interview here.