“Valentino” Set For Independent Release Through Truly Indie
“We have been showing the film to all kinds of audiences around the world since late summer and it has been a very rewarding road that we are thrilled is culminating in this alliance,” “Valentino: The Last Emperor” director Matt Tyrnauer said of the film’s recently announced deal to release the film independently through a relationship with Truly Idie. “We chose Truly Indie because it is an aggressive, creative company that shares our commitment to reaching the broadest possible audience as well as our vision and passion for a marketing and distribution plan to do so.”
With many traditional distribution offers on the table, the filmmakers have instead opted to go with Truly Indie as a partner to collaborate with on the film’s theatrical release. After a successful seven month festival run that began at the Venice Film Festival, and continued in Toronto, Chicago, where it won best documentary, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Rio, Dubai and Palm Springs, “Valentino: The Last Emperor” will have its theatrical debut at New York’s Film Forum on March 18, 2009. Truly Indie will work closely with the filmmakers on an extensive marketing push. It is then set to open in Chicago and San Francisco on March 27th, LA on April 3rd and additional markets will follow.
The deal was negotiated by Kelly Sanders and Jason Janego of Truly Indie and Josh Braun of Submarine, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers: director and producer Matt Tyrnauer, executive producer Carter Burden III and producer Matt Kapp.
The film is a feature-length doc on legendary designer Valentino Garavani. Produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, the film documents the dramatic finale of Valentino’s celebrated career. At the heart of the film is the relationship between Valentino and his business partner and companion of 50 years, Giancarlo Giammetti.
“Valentino’s life and story is so unique, even in the worlds of fashion and celebrity,” adds Kelly Sanders, Executive Director of Truly Indie, in a statement. “It is truly an honor to help bring such a rare documentary experience to film audiences.”
Truly Indie is a self-distribution initiative under Wagner Cuban Companies, a vertically-integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes the Landmark Theatres chain, Magnolia Pictures distribution company, production company 2929 Productions, and high-definition cable networks HDNet and HDNet Movies. Truly Indie has distributed Neill Dela Llana and Ian Gamazon’s “Cavite,” Doug Block’s “51 Birch Street,” and James Scurlock’s “Maxed Out,” among others.
