Quiver Distribution has acquired North American rights to The Night of Broken Glass, a Kristallnacht-set historical thriller from Oscar-winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky, and will open it in theatres on January 29.
The deal
The film is produced by Dor Film, Benaroya Pictures and The Launch Company, with IFT handling international sales. The cast is led by Clive Owen, Mélanie Laurent and Alexander Pettyfer; the screenplay comes from Jonathan Frank, Scott Mann, Uli Edel and Julius Grützke.
Set in Berlin in November 1938, the story follows Police Lieutenant Wilhelm Krützfeld, played by Owen, and his partner Kai Lehmann, played by Pettyfer. After the assassination of a German diplomat in Paris, a Nazi propaganda wave turns into street violence against Jewish families. The two detectives investigate the murder of a Jewish doctor as they are ordered to stand down.
Why the release date matters
Quiver is positioning the picture around International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Co-presidents Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz called the film “powerful and gripping” and said the story feels “particularly urgent and relevant” as antisemitism rises. That gives a specialty title a concrete cultural moment outside the year-end awards corridor.
- An Oscar-winning director in Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) gives the historical material credibility.
- Known lead actors give the release a chance with older, issue-driven audiences.
- The remembrance hook gives exhibitors and publicity teams a clear opening-week narrative.
The commercial lens
This is a split-rights arrangement: Quiver controls North America while IFT sells the remaining territories, a standard way for European-backed historical titles to finance across markets. For entertainment marketers, the play is precision rather than a wide-opening blitz. The marketing hand is the director’s Oscar credential, the cast, and the date itself.
Ruzowitzky said he wanted to examine the human choices made during a defining historical moment, and his statement gives campaign material for previews and earned media. The January 29 opening will test whether a conscience-driven period thriller can find an audience beyond festivals and awards season.
Source: Deadline
