Piece of Magic Takes Rights to Soccer Documentary ‘King Otto’
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Piece of Magic Entertainment, the distributor behind recent docs “Apollo 11” and “Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love,” has picked up international theatrical distribution rights for the underdog sports tale “King Otto.”
The doc follows the improbable path of the 2004 Greek National Soccer team, which went from never winning a single tournament match to claiming victory at that year’s European Championship. Leading the team was German coach “King” Otto Rehhagel, a veteran of the game who decided to take on his greatest challenge by guiding a team with 300:1 odds against them all the way to the top.
This inspirational true story comes courtesy of Christopher André Marks, a Greek-American filmmaker and veteran of HBO Sports and ESPN Films making his directorial debut with this project.
“Chris is an exciting new director to be working with and has brought this wonderful, warm story of Greek glory to life at a time when we need such up-lifting tales,” said producer Shani Hinton. “Otto and the Greek team created a bond that has carried on to this day and it is this mutual love and respect that shines through Chris’ film.”
“King Otto” producer Shani Hinton had previously collaborated with Piece of Magic on the 2019 doc “Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love,” which premiered at Sundance and saw a theatrical release last summer, so this project marks something of a repeat pairing.
“Working with Shani allows us to collaborate closely on international theatrical releases combining our in-built market by market knowledge with her keen insight and non-fiction expertise,” added Piece of Magic CEO Caspar Nadaud. “With the 2020 European Championship scheduled this summer, this extraordinary David and Goliath feel-good story couldn’t be more timely.”
“King Otto” was also produced by Cinema Nolita, with executive producer Ronald L. Chez. The film is slated for release in May.
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