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Munich-based sales agency the Playmaker has signed a key distribution deal for Japan with Ipa Asia on its hit heist comedy “Two to One,” starring Academy Award-nominated German thesp Sandra Hüller.

Hüller is joined in the cast by Max Riemelt (“Sense 8”) and Ronald Zehrfeld. The film is directed by Natja Brunckhorst, known for her critically acclaimed work on “Alles in Bester Ordnung” and “Wie Feuer und Flamme.”

“Two to One” is based on true events that took place during the reunification of Germany in 1990. In the chaos during the disintegration of the German Democratic Republic, a group of clever East Germans seize the chance to retrieve hidden millions from an underground vault. As they outsmart formidable opponents, the heist takes an unexpected turn when money officially unrecognized in East Germany circulates.

Pic has already sold widely in other territories, including Kmbo in France, A Contracorriente in Spain, Madman in Australia and Rosebud in Greece.

Klaus Härö’s “Never Alone” draws from real events and people during the Nazi years to tell the tale of a man who stood his ground with his ideals. Abraham Stiller (Ville Virtanen) runs a thriving textile business in Helsinki. He and his wife, Vera, are Jews who migrated from Tsarist Russia decades ago. The couple is part of local influential circles, having connections within the police as well. But how far does this immunize them or the Jewish refugee couple they take under their wing and give jobs?

What undoes the film, and whittles away some of its power is the frame narration rendered in trite, uninspired monochrome. A journalist is interviewing the businessman about his past. She questions him about Finland’s deportations of Jews in the 1940s despite it not being occupied by Germany. When she brings up the case of one deportee who survived the post-war trials,...