SXSW '08 DISPATCH | As "Nights and Weekends" Debuts, Swanberg & Gerwig Sign Worldwide Deal with IFC

The SXSW Film Festival, annual meeting place for that infamous interconnected movement of new American filmmakers known as Mumblecore, has yielded a deal for the new film from prolific DIY director Joe Swanberg. In a pact brokered in recent days, IFC Entertainment quickly acquired worldwide rights to Swanberg and Greta Gerwig's "Nights and Weekends," announcing the deal as the film had its world premiere tonight (Sunday) here in Austin, TX. and less than a year after distributing Swanberg's "Hannah Takes The Stairs," which debuted here last March.
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PARK CITY '08 | Sundance Buying Spree Stirs Talk; Sony Classics Adds "Baghead," "River," and "Wackness" to '08 Slate

In a Sundance year that saw buyers zeroing in on a small handful of titles like "Hamlet 2," "American Teen," and "Choke," each going to a different Indiewood company, Sony Pictures Classics' slow-and-steady approach yielded a bounty of three notable acquisitions late in the festival. "Frozen River," which went onto win the Grand Jury Prize, and "Baghead," the Duplass brother's comedy, were bought for a song by comparison (low-to-mid six figure sums each), while the Sundance audience award winner "The Wackness," an early '90s-set hip-hop coming-of-age dramedy from the director of "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," was purchased for upwards of seven figures. The news has had insiders, observers (and bloggers) buzzing.
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PARK CITY '08 | Wasatch Deal Watch: Some 100 Features Seeking U.S. Distribution at Sundance '08

Intriguing stats emerged when Geoff Gilmore and John Cooper unvelied the lineup for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival more than a month ago. Not only is the festival touting more than 50 first-time filmmakers for the upcoming festival, organizers are also saying that fewer than 20 of the 121 feature films set to screen have U.S. distribution. Based on data provided by the Sundance Film Festival's Industry Office and a number of sales companies who are heading to the event this week, about 100 new feature films are arriving at the festival with available U.S. rights. Coming off what was by all accounts a bad year for documentaries and low budget indies theatrically, not to mention the pressures created by the ongoing WGA strike, Sundance '08 has the potential to be a busy one for buyers at the festival. But, will the recent glut of fall films and the fact that most of last year's Sundance acquisitions didn't perform at the box office give buyers pause?
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iW INSIDER | Major Pre-Fest Buy Blooms; Summit Makes Blind Eight-figure Deal for Rian Johnson's "Brothers"

A script and just two minutes of footage were enough to sell upstart distribution company Summit Entertainment on North American rights to the unfinished sophomore feature from filmmaker Rian Johnson ("Brick"). In one of the most aggressive acquisitions ever, Summit poached "The Brothers Bloom," a movie that many expected would go on the market at the Sundance Film Festival early next year. The unspecified eight-figure deal would have made major headlines had the sale played out in Park City early next year. In a swift move, Summit simply pulled the anticipated project from an acclaimed emerging filmmaker off the market.
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A Record 63 Countries Vying For Best Foreign-Language Oscar Nod

A record 63 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 80th Academy Awards, AMPAS President Sid Ganis announced Wednesday. Among the entries released by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences are Israel's "Beaufort," after "The Band's Visit"'s controversial disqualification (as indieWIRE's Anthony Kaufman discusses here), and Taiwan's "Island Etude." Sources had suggested that Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" would be that country's pick, but the Academy decided there was not enough Tawianese particpation, despite Lee's similarly produced "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon winning the award in 2001. Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PT and the Oscars will be presented Sunday, February 24, 2008 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
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Coppola's Latest, "Youth Without Youth," Lands at Sony Classics

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American rights to "Youth Without Youth," the first film in a decade by Francis Ford Coppola. The company is planning a late Fall release this year. Adapted from a novella by Romanian author Mircea Eliade, Coppola wrote, directed and produced the new film, which stars Tim Roth. The actor plays Dominic Matei, described as, "an elderly professor whose mysterious rejuvenation heightens his intelligence and whose apparent immortality makes him a target for the Nazis in this World War II-era parable."
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PARK CITY '07 BIZ WRAP | 15 Films For $50 Million: "Sunshine" Dreams Spark Sundance Deals

Fox Searchlight's North American rights deal for John Carney's "Once," considered the sleeper hit of this year's Sundance Film Festival, capped a wave of deals from the festival as buyers now prepare to make their way to Berlin this week for the increasingly important European Film Market. While some $50 million has already been spent for some 15 theatrical deals (see the complete list at the end of this story), insiders expect more Park City pacts to emerge. Buyers and sellers also continue to try and make sense of why the market was so robust this year given pre-fest trade reports that downplayed the upcoming festival and painted a relatively bleak picture. In The Hollywood Reporter an opening day Sundance piece said that the fest lacked "obvious crowd-pleasers" and "high-concept" projects, while an unnamed buyer told Variety that the fest would, "probably be great for ThinkFilm, but I'll be surprised if Focus or Vantage or Searchlight buy anything."
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Films From 61 Countries Vying For Oscar Nod

61 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 79th Academy Awards, Academy President Sid Ganis announced Thursday. The complete list is published below, but lacks Aki Kaurismaki’s “Lights in the Dusk,” which was submitted by Finland but subsequently withdrawn by the filmmaker. The Academy said in a statement Thursday that an AMPAS rep is in conversations with Kaurismaki to persuade him to change his mind. The nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 and the Oscars will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007.
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Marking A Strategic Shift at IFC, Company Nabs Dahl's "You Kill Me"

In a deal that marks a shift in strategy for the company, last week in Toronto IFC Films negotiated a preemptive North American pact for John Dahl's new film, "You Kill Me." Currently in post-production, the mob comedy will be released nationwide next year and stars Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni and Luke Wilson. Following the recent launch of its IFC First Take label for smaller movies, IFC Films is evolving into a label for releasing a smaller number of higher profile films each annually, probably 4 - 6 movies per year.
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Weinsteins and IFC Team for "Indigenes" in North America

French director Rachid Bouchareb's "Indigenes" (Days of Glory) will be distributed in North America by both The Weinstein Company and IFC Films. Set during World War II, the film stars James Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila and Roschdy Zem about four North African soldiers who came to Europe to fight for occupied France. The foursome, among 130,000 other "indigenous soldiers" sent to liberate their colonial masters, crossed the Mediterranean from France's North African colonies and fought in the French army, helping to win battles in Italy, Provence and the Vosges before finding themselves alone to defend an Alsatian village against a German battalion.
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Fall Release Planned for "Dixie Chicks" Doc As Weinsteins Close Worldwide Deal

Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck's "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing" has been acquired by The Weinstein Company, in a worldwide rights deal announced Monday ahead of the doc's upcoming debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows the female country music trio's ollercoaster three-year experience from popularity to pariah status in the wake of brief critical comments about George W. Bush on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Weinstein Company is planning a release in U.S. theaters this fall.
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Magnolia Eyeing Both Sides of the Aisle with "Jesus Camp" Doc

"Jesus Camp," the new documentary about three Missouri kids who travel to Pastor Becky Fischer's "Kids on Fire" evangelical summer camp, has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures for a September theatrical release that will target both conservative Christian and liberal doc audiences alike. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's follow-up to "The Boys of Baraka" debuted at this year's Tribeca Film Festival where it won a Special Documentary Jury Prize and went on to pick up the SilverDocs Sterling Award at SilverDocs last month. Produced by A&E IndieFilms, "Jesus Camp" offers a unique window into the North Dakota camp where young kids are actively trained, in the words of an announcement, "to become dedicated soldiers in 'God's army'."
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Al Franken Doc, "God Spoke," Coming to Theaters This Fall; Balcony Planning Pre-Election Release

Fresh from the festival circuit, Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus' "Al Franken: God Spoke" is set for a theatrical release later this year from Balcony Releasing. The film, shot over the course of two years, is a mostly verite look at the life of author and political satirist Al Franken.
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"Shortbus" Inks North American Deal With ThinkFilm; UK Rights Go To The Works

ThinkFilm has acquired all North American rights to John Cameron Mitchell's "Shortbus," perhaps the most talked about film at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and, in a separate pact, The Works U.K. Distribution has secured UK rights to the new movie. A sexually explicit, strikingly artistic and ultimately hopeful new film, "Shortbus" is the story of a group of New Yorkers -- straight and gay, male and female -- coping with life and love in the modern day big city. They come together weekly at a polysexual, bohemian Brooklyn salon that features music, art and yes, sex. The follow-up to Mitchell's "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Shortbus" features an ensemble cast who workshopped the project and engage in graphic on-screen sex scenes.
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IFC Bringing "This Film is Not Yet Rated" to Theaters

Sundance 2006 feature "This Film is Not Yet Rated" will open September 1st in New York and Los Angeles via IFC Films, the company announced Monday afternoon. Directed by Oscar-nominated director Kirby Dick ("Twist of Faith"), the IFC Television production examines the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) film ratings system and takes a look at its impact on American culture. IFC Films will release the movie unrated.
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IFC Gets Two Argentine Films For First Take

Fabian Bielinsky's "The Aura" and Daniel Burman's "Family Law," two acclaimed Argentine films, have been added to the slate of IFC First Take, the day and date distribution label launched this year by IFC Entertainment. The deal, with sales company Celluloid Dreams, follows the recent Cannes market acquisition of "Destricted" for the label that unveils films simultaneously in theaters and via VOD on cable television. The company is planning to release 24 films per year under the new banner.
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Magnolia Strikes Again With Cannes Market Deal for "Severance"

Magnolia Pictures has announced a deal for U.S. rights to Christopher Smith's "Severance," a film the company first saw at the recent Marche du Film in Cannes. Magnolia closed the deal for the horror-comedy with HanWay Films. The pact marks the second Cannes deal closed by the company, following its acquisition of English-language rights to South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "The Host," an acclaimed Directors' Fortnight entry at the festival.
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Kino Scores U.S./Canadian Rights to Reichardt's Acclaimed "Old Joy"

One of the most acclaimed U.S. independent films from the 2006 festival circuit so far, Kelly Reichardt's "Old Joy," has been acquired for U.S. and Canadian distribution by Kino International. The film, which debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and later screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, the New Directors/New Films Series in New York and SXSW, stirred interest from niche distributors in the States, with Kino emerging as the buyer. Forward Entertainment is launching international sales at the Cannes market this week.
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ThinkFilm Makes Worldwide Deal for "Off The Black"; Will Sell International Rights at Cannes Market

James Ponsoldt's "Off The Black" has been acquired by ThinkFilm, in a worldwide rights deal announced by the company Thursday. Think will be handling international sales for the film at the Cannes market next week. A 2006 Sundance Film Festival debut, the film is described as the "coming-of-age story of teenager who copes with his own distant father by forming an unlikely friendship with a disheveled, irascible high school umpire."
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Focus Takes Worldwide Rights to Foulkrod's Doc, "The Ground Truth"

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Patricia Foulkrod's documentary feature "The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends," which screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Focus president James Schamus announced Monday. Cinetic brokered the deal with Focus, and the film is slated for a theatrical release later this year.
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