For Immediate Release:

MUSIC BOX FILMS HOME ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES

Mozart’s Sister

A GORGEOUS, MUSIC-FILLED TALE OF THE EARLY LIFE OF MARIA ANNA ‘NANNERL’ MOZART, WOLFGANG’S OVERSHADOWED OLDER SISTER AND A MUSICAL PRODIGY IN HER OWN RIGHT

Available on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital Download

February 14, 2012

“A stunner…a treat for classical music lovers and cinephiles alike.”
–Ronnie Scheib, VARIETY
“Romantic and engaging-with lush musical detail throughout…“
–Chris Chang, FILM COMMENT
“A beguiling celebration…a special pleasure!”
–Joe Morgensterin, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Chicago, IL (January 12, 2012) - Maria Anna ‘Nannerl’ Mozart was first held forth as her legendarily talented family’s infant musical prodigy. But being the elder sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart meant that she would be overshadowed and sidelined as an accompanist by her brother’s growing fame. A re-imagining of Nannerl Mozart’s early years-of a young life of music, family and exceeding talent that is never fully realized-provides the story for the sumptuous period drama MOZART’S SISTER, written, directed and produced by internationally acclaimed filmmaker René Féret (Solemn Communion, The Story of Paul).

An accomplished singer, harpsichordist and violinist, Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart (Marie Féret) is originally her family’s featured performer. But Nannerl gives way to her five-years-young brother Wolfgang (David Moreau) as the main attraction, as their strict but loving father Leopold (Marc Barbe) tours his talented offspring in front of the royal courts of pre-French Revolution Europe. It is as Nannerl approaches marriageable age that her father bows to social strictures and forbids her from violin playing or composing, while privately conceding her talent to his wife. Though she is restrained by the limitations imposed by her time and gender, Nannerl’s friendship with the son and daughter of France’s Louis XV offers her ways to challenge the established sexual and social order of the day.

Music Box Films Home Entertainment will release MOZART’S SISTER on VOD, Digital Download, DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on February 14 (prebook January 10, 2012). Released theatrically to acclaim around the world and in the U.S.’s top markets, MOZART’S SISTER DVD and Blu-ray discs will carry the suggested retail price of  $29.94 and $38.94 respectively.

A pair of singular women stand out among the talented artists and performers who collaborated with filmmaker Féret to bring MOZART’S SISTER to the screen. First is young Marie Féret (the director’s daughter), whose empowering yet sensitive portrayal of the aspiring Nannerl Mozart was lauded by critic Roger Ebert as being “luminous in the role.”

Next is composer Marie-Jeanne Séréro, whose musical score is an essential character in MOZART’S SISTER. As there were no surviving examples of Nannerl Mozart’s music to adapt, it was necessary for Séréro to compose music that Nannerl might have written during her lifetime. The creation of a Baroque score that could possibly belong to the Mozart family but that would clearly be of Nannerl’s voice and not Wolfgang’s is a challenge that Séréro takes on brilliantly.

A lavish, costumed saga that re-imagines a remarkable story about an even more extraordinary young woman, MOZART’S SISTER will be music to the ears of any lover of French cinema, period re-creations or classical music.

The film will be available onDemand via Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, RCN, and Metrocast, as well as select independent providers.  Digital Downloads of the film will be available on iTunes, Vudu, and Amazon VOD.

More information on MOZART’S SISTER can be found on the MUSIC BOX FILMS website at http://www.musicboxfilms.com/mozarts-sister the film’s website at http://www.mozartssister.com/.

MOZART’S SISTER — Synopsis:

Europe, 1763: Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart (Marie Féret) is an accomplished singer, harpsichordist and violinist and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s (David Moreau) elder sister by five years. Though she first held forth as the family’s infant prodigy and was originally the family’s featured performer, Nannerl has given way to Wolfgang as the main attraction, as their strict but loving father Leopold (Marc Barbe) tours his talented offspring in front of the royal courts of pre-French revolution Europe. As Nannerl approaches marriageable age, her father bows to social strictures “for her own good” and forbids her to continue with the violin or composition, while privately conceding her talent to his wife. No longer a precocious child, Nannerl chafes at the limitations imposed by her gender. But a friendship with the son and daughter of Louis XV offers her ways to challenge the established sexual and social order.

About Music Box Films:

Founded in 2007, Music Box Films has quickly established itself as one of the leading distributors of non-English language feature films in the US in theaters, on DVD and Blu-ray, and via Video-on-Demand. Music Box’s release of Guillaume Canet’s Tell No One was the most popular foreign-language film of 2008. In 2010, the film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy of international mega-sellers dominated the foreign-language film market: the first in the series, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, was one of the most popular international releases of the decade with over $10 million in US box office. Music Box Films is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation, which also owns and operates The Music Box Theatre, Chicago’s premiere venue for independent and foreign films.

Mozart’s Sister
Music Box Films Home Entertainment
STREET DATE:  February 14, 2012
Pre-book Date:            January 10, 2012
Format: DVD
SRP:     $ 29.95  DVD
$38.95 Blu-ray
Cast: Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin
Director: René Féret
Running Time: 120 minutes
Format:            1.85:1 widescreen
Sound Format:  Dolby Digital 5.1
Rating:                         NR
Country:          France
Language:         French with English subtitles

Bonus Features*
Original Soundtrack Musical CD with Original Score by Marie-Jeanne Serero