Tribeca Film has acquired North American rights to “Time Is Illmatic,” the Nas documentary which which had its world premiere as the opening night of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary is directed by multimedia artist, One9, written by Erik Parker, and produced by One9, Parker, and Anthony Saleh. It follows the trajectory of Nas’ 1994 landmark debut album, “Illmatic,” which is widely considered to be one of the most important albums in hip-hop. Tribeca Film is planning a day-and-date release in October along with performances by Nas in select cities. The company is also planning educational youth screening series to complement the release.
In his review of the film when it premiered at Tribeca, Eric Kohn wrote, “The debut feature of multimedia artist One9 does justice to the record’s
significance for the hordes of fans that have consumed it over the
course of a generation.”
“I want to thank Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal & the Tribeca Film
family for all of the love & support they’ve given ‘Time Is
Illmatic,'” said Nas. “It is an honor to be in partnership with them. I
feel there is a cultural kinship bonded by the city of New York.”
The documentary was supported by The Ford Foundation’s Just Films and Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access program.
Jane Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises said: “We began this journey with filmmakers One9 and Erik Parker when they conceived of the idea for the film in 2010 and supported them with funding through the Tribeca Film Institute to complete their vision. We were privileged to open the 2014 Festival with the world premiere of this powerful story of an artist’s journey through the toughest of conditions and times. The film is unique. Nas is the truest of artists, reflecting his community. Tribeca was founded on community and filmmaking and we could not be more proud of our continuing association with a work as honest and inspirational as ‘Time is Illmatic.'”
The deal for the film was negotiated by Nick Savva, Vice President of Acquisitions for Tribeca Film and David Koh, Dan Braun, Josh Braun for Submarine Entertainment with Liesl Copland for WME on behalf of the filmmakers.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
