AsiaNet  84758

ZURICH, July 14, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The team behind the world's first Swissploitation movie today announced that

cult US screenwriter, actor, director and producer Trent Haaga has joined Mad

Heidi's scriptwriting team. The award-winning Haaga has been involved in over

100 films in a long and sometimes controversial career.

Mad Heidi is being produced by IRON SKY producer Tero Kaukomaa and Amateur

Teen’s and Paradise War’s Valentin Greutert, and it will be directed by the

highly talented, up-and-coming Swiss director Johannes Hartmann.

The little girl from the alps is back…with a vengeance

Mad Heidi is an action-adventure-comedy-horror parody of the much-loved

children's storybook character Heidi. Now all grown up, Heidi is just a girl

from the Alps in an alternative Switzerland that has fallen under fascist rule.

Little does she know that her yearning for personal freedom will be the spark

that ignites a revolution. From fondue torture to death by chocolate, Mad Heidi

is a true Swissploitation film. Think Kill Bill meets The Sound of Music.

Trent Haaga said, “I’ve always been a huge fan of old-school exploitation films

- from spaghetti westerns, kung-fu movies, the counterculture movies of the

late 60s, and the timeless alternate reality of the Iron Sky films. I see Mad

Heidi as a love letter to all of the above, and I was thrilled to be offered

the chance to play in the world that Tero, Valentin, and Johannes have created.

Mad Heidi holds a dark funhouse mirror up to the world through the lens of a

Switzerland that never was. It’s a futuristic fairy tale heavily inspired by a

classic and much-loved novel. Who wouldn’t want to be involved in something

like that? I’m also a huge fan of the way these guys put their films together -

eschewing traditional financing models, embracing new forms of distribution,

and valuing input from the fans during production. As far as I’m concerned,

it’s the future of independent filmmaking, and I’m delighted to be making this

journey with this team.”

Haaga has a long and successful track record with credits including writing

many feature films, from Lloyd Kaufman's legendary Troma’s The Toxic Avenger

Part 4, Courteney Cox’s directorial debut, Talhotblond, to the controversial

2008 Toronto International Film Festival hit, DEADGIRL.

Tero Kaukomaa said, “It's great to have someone of Trent's undoubted talents on

board. He always delivers and is a perfect fit for the amazing new film we are

producing for our fans. I can assure you people will not be disappointed. In

fact, we are sure they're gonna love it. We know our fans have been waiting,

and the good news for them is that things are starting to move quickly. So,

watch this space as there’s plenty more news to come.”

Notes to editors

About Trent Haaga

Trent Haaga is an award-winning screenwriter, director, producer, and actor who

has been involved in over 100 films in his 20-year career. Trent has written

many feature films, from Troma’s The Toxic Avenger Part 4 to Courteney Cox’s

directorial debut, Talhotblond, to the controversial 2008 Toronto International

Film Festival hit, DEADGIRL. He is also the screenwriter of the AAA video game

The Evil Within 2 from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Trent is a two-time

SXSW Audience Award-winner with his films Cheap Thrills and 68 Kill. He lives

in Los Angeles.

About Tero Kaukomaa (Producer of Mad Heidi)

In 1997, film producer and entrepreneur Tero Kaukomaa established Blind Spot

Pictures. Since then he has produced, or co-produced, over 20 feature films

including “Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier, Golden Globe nominee

“Everlasting Moments'' by Jan Troel,l and “Iron Sky'' by Pernilla August. In

2012, he released Timo Vuorensola's “Iron Sky '', an € 8 million Finnish –

German – Australian co-production. The film was heavily crowd-sourced and

crowd-funded by a world-wide community of fans. In 2014, Tero founded Iron Sky

Universe together with Timo Vuorensola to continue the Iron Sky Saga. In 2019,

the €19 million sequel to Iron Sky, “Iron Sky The Coming Race” was launched. A

USD 30 million Chinese film, “The Ark – an Iron Sky'', is currently in

post-production. Also in 2019, Tero founded SwissploitationFilms GmbH with

Valentin Greutert and Johannes Hartmann to produce and distribute Mad Heidi,

the world's first Swissploitation film. In 2020, he founded Son of a Pitch Oy

(Ltd) together with Timo Vuorensolato to offer their expertise in crowd

engagement and pitching to other filmmakers. Tero believes in quality and the

power of marketing, and he wants to use creative new ways to bring fresh

content to the market. He is a member of ACE and the European Film Academy. He

divides his time between Helsinki, Finland and Zürich, Switzerland.

Valentin Greutert (Producer of Mad Heidi)

Valentin Greutert started working in the film business in 2000 after graduating

with a Masters in Economics and Business Administration. In 2004, he founded

his first production company, HesseGreutert Film, in Zurich, Switzerland. Since

2015, he has headed his new outlet, A Film Company. Greutert has produced many

feature films and documentaries, among them pearls like "Rocksteady: The Roots

of Reggae" and "Amateur Teens". In 2019, his biggest production to date was

released. “Paradise War”, based on a true story and represented by

TrustNordisk, was shot on three continents with 76 days spent shooting, most of

them deep in the jungles of Borneo. The film was a major success in

Switzerland. Since 2008, Greutert has been a member of the international

producer club ACE. He is also part of the European and Swiss Film Academies, as

well as member of the documentary and fiction commission of the Federal Office

of Culture in Berne. Building on his background in economics, Greutert also

designed and now distributes KOSMA, a professional software to control film

production finances (www.kosma.io).

About Johannes Hartmann (Director of Mad Heidi)

Active as director and producer since 2007, Johannes Hartmann founded Decoy

Films GmbH in 2009 together with two partners. Since then, he has been

responsible for the realisation of many commercials, music videos and service

productions. His debut short film "Halbschlaf" was selected by Switzerland’s

leading genre film festival, the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film

Festival, and numerous other international film festivals, and has won several

awards. This was followed by other short films and documentaries, which were

selected at film festivals worldwide. With his concept for Mad Heidi, the

world's first Swissploitation film, Johannes Hartmann approached the producers

Tero Kaukomaa and Valentin Greutert, with whom he founded Swissploitation Films

in autumn 2019. Mad Heidi is Hartmann’s directorial debut as a director of a

feature-length fiction film.

Media resources      

- For media interviews or more information please contact media@madheidi.com  

- Resources: download Mad Heidi press pack, film stills, behind the scenes

pictures, teaser poster & the Mad Heidi logo at

https://madheidi.com/pages/press

- View the Mad Heidi film trailer at  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eWiB6X-Fho&has_verified=1

- Latest news and views as well as Mad Heidi merchandise at

https://madheidi.com/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1213456/Trent_Haaga_Mad_Heidi.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1213455/Mad_Heidi_Logo.jpg

Source: Mad Heidi