Press Releases

NEW YORK (February 7, 2015) - Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they acquired North American and Latin American rights to 13 MINUTES from Beta Cinema. The film, directed by Academy Award® nominated Oliver Hirschbiegel (DOWNFALL), is playing Out of Competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

13 MINUTES starring Christian Friedel (THE WHITE RIBBON), Katharina Schüttler (GENERATION WAR), Burghart Klaußner (THE WHITE RIBBON) and Johann von Bülow (LABYRINTH OF LIES) is produced by Lucky Bird Pictures in coproduction with SWR, ARD Degeto, BR, WDR, ARTE, Delphi Medien and Philipp film production. Producers are Boris Ausserer, Oliver Schündler (Lucky Bird) and Fred Breinersdorfer (Delphi).

A carpenter from Königsbronn in Swabia, Georg Elser was a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives. If only he had had 13 more minutes. With 13 more minutes, the bomb he had personally assembled would have torn apart Adolf Hitler and his henchmen. But this was not to be, and on 8 November 1939, Hitler left the scene of the attempted assassination earlier than expected - leaving Elser to fail catastrophically.

Ten years after the sweeping worldwide success of Academy Award® nominated DOWNFALL, 13 MINUTES marks Director Oliver Hirschbiegel's return to Germany.

"I am overjoyed and very, very proud that Sony Pictures Classics, for me the crown jewel of foreign language and indie film distributors, will bring 13 MINUTES to the American audiences who I am sure will come to love this exceptionally free spirited and brave man Georg Elser," stated Director Oliver Hirschbiegel.

"60 years after the end of WWII there continues to be extraordinary stories from that period and 13 MINUTES is one of those stories. Oliver Hirschbiegel is a gifted storyteller, whose film we are proud to bring to the public, alongside Dirk, Thorsten and our friends at Beta, with whom we've shared so many wonderful films over the years," added Sony Pictures Classics.

"I'm so am thrilled that SPC have chosen to distribute 13 MINUTES. We could not be in better hands," said Beta Cinema's Managing Director Dirk Schuerhoff, who negotiated the deal for the film.

This deal marks the 6th collaboration with Beta Cinema and SPC. Other films include Academy Award® winners THE LIVES OF OTHERS and THE COUNTERFIETERS and Academy Award® nominee IN DARKNESS.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992, which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world.

Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 32 Academy Awards® (28 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 158 Academy Award® nominations (132 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

Contact:
Carmelo Pirrone
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Executive Vice President, Marketing
550 Madison Avenue 8th Floor NY, NY 10022
212-833-8851 (o) 917-969-1478 (m)