Lorber Flaunts "Videocracy" for the U.S.

A scene from Erik Gandini's "Videocracy."

Lorber Films has acquired U.S. rights to Erik Gandini's doc "Videocracy" the company said Monday. Richard Lorber negotiated the deal with Susan Wendt, head of sales at TrustNordisk Films will open at the IFC Center in New York on February 12th, followed by a theatrical release across the U.S. The U.S. theatrical release of the film will be supported by High Five, the new funding program of Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

"I'm really interested in how you can destroy a democracy by tits and ass," Gandini told indieWIRE in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film argues that Italy no longer places value in people who aspire to reason and the challenges of the modern day. Women want to be voiceless showgirls on talent shows and marry footballers (soccer players). Recent prostitution and marital scandals, which have received a fair amount of airtime in other European countries as well as America, do not get broadcast on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's networks or the other public networks that he also controls as head of the government. "Videocracy" spotlights a cult of celebrity worship and TV junkies that, the director believes, has literally hypnotized Italian society to the detriment of public wellbeing, societal problems, and even democracy itself.

"This film jumped off the screen for me at Toronto," said Lorber in a statement. "It's a documentary that is more fantastical than any fiction film I've seen in a long while. As a saga of greed, decadence and privilege that's transforming a democracy into a media circus, it's both a cautionary tale and outrageous cinema entertainment."

Lorber Films is a theatrical releasing arm of Kino Lorber that specializes in international films, classics and documentary features. Kino Lorber is the newly formed company that combining Lorber HT Digital and Kino International.