IFC Adopts "Persian Cats"

A scene from Bahman Ghobadi's film "No One Knows About The Persian Cats." Image courtesy of IFC Films

IFC Films has confirmed what has been speculated for some time in announcing its acquisition of the U.S. rights to the Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi's film "No One Knows About The Persian Cats," which looks at Tehran's youth and underground music scene. The fifth film from Ghobadi, "Cats" was the opening night film of the Un Certain Regard section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize.

The deal marks a reunion for Bahman Ghobadi with IFC Films who previously released his acclaimed 2004 feature "Turtles Can Fly." It was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, IFC Films VP of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, with Carole Baraton of Wild Bunch.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be back in business with Bahman Ghobadi and Wild Bunch," said Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment, in a statement. "He's one of the world's most distinct voices and he's made an incredibly entertaining, fascinating and life-affirming film. We think this is going to be a great follow-up to our success with 'Turtles Can Fly.'"

"Cats" was written by Ghobadi, Roxana Saberi, Hosein M. Abkenar. It had its North American premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles in November of last year, and will also be a special presentation at the upcoming SXSW Film Festival in March. IFC Films will release it sometime in 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings movies to on-demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.