Sundance Selects nabs 'Hills'

Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights to Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu's religious drama "Beyond the Hills." Mungi wrote the script and produced along with Pascal Cauchteaux and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. The film stars Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur, Dana Tapalaga, and Catalina Harabagiu. Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" won the Palme d'Or and Fipresci International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.Story in "Beyond the Hills" centers on two young women who have supported and loved each other since meeting as children in an orphanage. One has found refuge at an isolated convent in Romania and refuses to leave with her friend, who has been living in Germany.The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, Senior VP of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films with Carole Baraton at Wild Bunch on behalf of the filmmakers. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com