‘Barry & Me,’ About St. Bernard Puppy, Closes Deals Ahead of Market Premiere in Berlin (EXCLUSIVE)

The Playmaker has closed several significant distribution deals on Swiss box office hit “Barry & Me” ahead of its market premiere in Berlin.

The film, directed by German helmer Markus Welter, has sold to Estinfilm for the Baltics, Media Squad for Eastern Europe, Grand Entertainment for Motion Pictures for Middle East, Big Rights for Spain and Samuel Goldwyn Films for the U.S.

The distributors in Germany and Switzerland are Wild Bunch and Ascot Elite, respectively. The film has been playing in Swiss cinemas since Jan. 14 and will be released in Germany next month. It’s a box office success in Switzerland and, in its second weekend, reached a total of over 45,000 admissions.

Related Stories

Elon Musk's X Offices in Paris Raided by Prosecutors as Part of Investigation Into Far-Right Agenda and Grok's Sexual Deepfakes

Elon Musk Says Christopher Nolan Has 'Lost His Integrity' With 'The Odyssey' If Lupita Nyong’o Is Playing Helen of Troy

The children’s film is inspired by the Swiss legend of the barrel-wearing rescue dogs who helped recover dozens of people swept up in avalanches in the 1800s. This version, however, focuses on his friendship with 12-year-old Georg, who discovers and secretly raises the puppy in a mountain infirmary, leading to adventures in the Swiss Alps.

“Barry & Me” is a Swiss-German co-production by Atlantis Pictures and MMC Zodiac. It is supported by the Zürcher Filmstiftung, the Deutscher Filmförderungsfonds, the Film und Medienstiftung NRW, the Bundesamt für Kultur, the Filmförderungsanstalt FFA, Suissimage, the Kanton Luzern, and the Valais Film Commission.

Highlights of the Playmaker’s Berlin slate include the sales launch of “The Unicorn That Said No,” a 3D animated family feature based on Marc-Uwe Kling’s international bestselling book.

Welter made his feature directorial debut in 2009 with “Im Sog der Nacht,” which screened at the Max Ophüls Festival in Saarbrücken and the Zurich Film Festival. He went on to direct the TV movie “Die Käserei in Goldingen” and the 3D horror feature “One Way Trip 3D.”

Subsequent projects included the SRF/ZDF co-production “Der Teufel von Mailand,” based on the novel by Martin Suter, which premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in 2012, and the SRF primetime feature “Altes Haus.” From 2012 onward, he helped shape the hit SRF series “Der Bestatter,” directing the first three seasons.

His later work for SRF included “Tatort — Kleine Prinzen,” and co-directing the comedy series “Seitentriebe.” In 2018, he directed the TV film “Weglaufen geht nicht.”