Montreal-based sales company Delphis Films has picked up international rights to the Dutch family adventure The Letter for the King (De Brief voor de koning). The deal gives Delphis world rights excluding the Benelux nations, Germany, Austria and the German-speaking regions of Switzerland.

A hit at home where it opened in July on 103 screens and has since grabbed more than 300,000 admissions, the €7.5-million knights tale is one of the most expensive films undertaken in the Netherlands. In a statement, Delphis president Xiao Juan Zhou suggested the film’s production values set it up for international success.

Directed by Dutch veteran Pieter Verhoeff from a 1962 novel close to the hearts of Netherlanders, the story follows a young knight-in-the-making who defies his elders to help deliver a secret communiqué. The film was produced by Holland’s Eyeworks Egmond and Armada Productions in association with Germany’s Heimatfilm. It opens in Germany in November.

The film won two prizes at the children-oriented Schlingel Film Festival this month. The professional jury gave it the €4,000 prize for best junior film, while the junior jury (who declared it ‘an exciting knight movie’) gave it the €1,000 best junior film prize.