Juno Filmes acquired the United States and Canada rights to “The Most Beautiful Boy in the World” before its world premiere at this month’s Sundance Film Festival.
The film will be of particular interest to moviegoers, as it tells the story of Björn Andrésen, who became internationally known at age fifteen with a key role in Luchino Visconti’s “Death in Venice”. His star against Dirk Bogarde was a kind of double-edged sword – he made him famous and plunged him into a world of rich and powerful, but he also left a psychological baggage. Visconti chose Andrésen because, in the director’s assessment, he was “the most beautiful boy in the world”. And he photographed him in ways that made his appearance stand out – a decision that didn’t necessarily age well.
Andrésen suggested that Visconti’s style bordered on the exploitation of a minor. In a 2003 interview with The Guardian, he said “I feel used” and added: “The love of adults for teenagers is something that I am against in principle. Emotionally, perhaps, and intellectually, I am disturbed by this – because I have some idea of what that type of love is. “
“The most beautiful boy in the world” is directed by Kristina Lindstom and Kristian Petri and produced by Stockholm-based Stina Gardell’s Mantaray Film. Juno Films will release the film in theaters in May 2021. The deal was negotiated by Elizabeth Sheldon, founding partner and CEO of Juno Films. Film Boutique recently announced that it has acquired worldwide sales rights.
According to the official description, “Fifty years after the premiere, Björn takes us on a remarkable journey made up of personal memories, film history, stars and tragic events in what could be Björn’s last attempt to finally put his life back on track. “
The film was shot over five years in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, Budapest, Venice and Tokyo and features extensive interviews with Andrésen.
“It is a story about obsession with beauty, about desire and sacrifice, about a boy whose life changed forever when filmmaker Luchino Visconti declared him the ‘most beautiful boy in the world’,” said co-director Kristina Lindstrom in a statement. “Who was this boy and what happened to him? This film allows us to hear the boy’s own story. He, who was made an image by others, an icon, a fantasy, who took over his young life ”.