Dan Films' first feature, the acclaimed Butterfly Kiss launched director Michael Winterbottom and writer Frank Cottrell Boyce into the mainstream. Starring Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves, the film premiered in the main competition of the 1995 Berlin Film Festival and has garnered cult status amongst worldwide audiences ever since.
Writer/director Chris Newby's lyrical love story Madagascar Skin starring John Hannah and Bernard Hill was premiered in La Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Festival 1995. Newby won the Director's Week Award at Fantasporto 1996 and the film sold successfully both in the US and around the world.
LA Without a Map followed with a Gala Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 1998. Adapted from Richard Rayner's cult novel and directed by Mika Kaurismaki, this Hollywood-set comedy romance brought together an international cast including David Tennant, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo and Vinessa Shaw.
Villa des Roses reunited the Cannes award-winning team of writer Christophe Dirickx and director Frank Van Passel. An offbeat love story set in Paris in 1913 starring Julie Delpy, Timothy West and Shirley Henderson, the film was selected for both the Hollywood Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards. Villa des Roses is a prime example of a Dan Films European co-production, for which the Company is well-known, in this instance uniting the UK, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.
Acclaimed director Peter Bogdanovich joined forces with Dan Films for The Cat's Meow his dramatic exploration of one of Hollywood's most enduring mysteries: the murder that took place aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924. With a stellar cast including Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer Tilly, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, Cary Elwes and Claudie Blakley, the film was sold worldwide by Lionsgate Films.
Summer Things (Embrassez qui Vous Voudrez) a French comedy of sex and relationships by Michel Blanc, enjoyed a fantastic outing at the French box office. It starred Charlotte Rampling, Carole Bouquet and Jacques Dutronc and was co-produced with Paris based studio - UGC. Summer Things was released in the UK in 2003.
Dan Films then co-produced Portuguese director António-Pedro Vasconcelos' next outing, Os Imortais (The Immortals) a thriller which starred Emmanuelle Seigner and Joaquim de Almeida.
Director Deepa Mehta turned to Pulitzer Prize winning author Carole Shields' novel for The Republic of Love a multifaceted tale of love in the 21st century starring Bruce Greenwood, Emilia Fox and Edward Fox. A co-production with Toronto-based Triptych Media, the film received its world premiere with a Gala Screening at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2003.
Featuring the acrobatic skills of the Yamakazi in a combination of parkor (roof jumping) and martial arts, Sons of the Wind - Bangkok Ninjas brought Dan Films together once again with UGC for a UK/France co-production. Directed by top French commercials director Julien Seri, this high-octane action film was shot in London and Bangkok and featured a stunning orchestral score from acclaimed composer Christian Henson.
One of the most popular British horror films of recent years, director Christopher Smith's debut Creep was a co-production with Germany's Zero West. It starred Franka Potente (Run Lola Run; The Bourne Supremacy) alongside Vas Blackwood and Sean Harris and was set in the London Underground. Creep premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004. It opened successfully worldwide theatrically and has found equal popularity on DVD.
Christopher Smith's follow-up film, Severance, was released by Pathe in August 2006. A horror film about a corporate bonding trip to Eastern Europe, the film was shot in Hungary and the Isle of Man. It starred Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, Claudie Blakley, Toby Stephens and Tim McInnerny.
Released theatrically in July 2008, Puffball is the latest feature from acclaimed director Nicolas Roeg (Don't Look Now). Based on the novel by Fay Weldon, Puffball starred Kelly Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Rita Tushingham and Donald Sutherland.
A funny and poignant road movie, Abraham's Point, was next to be completed. The film was written and directed by Wyndham Price and starred Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean).
Triangle by Christopher Smith was released in October 2009. Filmed entirely in Australia and starring Melissa George, it is a supernatural thriller set aboard a deserted cruise liner which garnered rave reviews from critics.
