Film Acquisition Rundown: Oscilloscope Picks Up ‘November,’ The Orchard Buys ‘Flower’ and More
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired the North American rights to the Tribeca Film Festival entry “November.” Directed by Rainer Sarnet, the film is based on Andrus Kivirähk’s novel “Rehepapp,” about about a peasant girl in 19th century Estonia who longs for village boy. The story of requited love takes place in an incredibly complicated, dark landscape where spirits, werewolves, plagues, and the devil himself converge.
“’November’ is one of the most unique and stunning films to come along in some time,” Oscilloscope president Dan Berger said in a statement. “It’s equal measures beautiful love story and balls-to-wall bonkers-ass folk tale.” Oscilloscope will open the film theatrically later this year.
– The Orchard has acquired “Flower,” a dark comedy from director Max Winkler that premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. The movie centers on a rebellious 17-year-old named Erica (Zoey Deutch) who has a habit of sexually scheming guys out of their money. “Flower” co-stars Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott and Tim Heidecker.
The film was written by Winkler and “Ingrid Goes West” director Matt Spicer, who worked on an original script from Young Adult novelist Alex McAulay that made the 2012 Black List. “Flower” marked the first acquisition out of this year’s Tribeca.
– IFC Midnight has acquired the U.S. rights to “Darkness Rising,” written by Vikram Weet and directed by Austin Reading. The film follows a young woman named Madison Shaw who finds out her childhood home is about to be torn down and decides she must see it one last time. Far from a nostalgic trip through childhood memories, Shaw is motivated by the need to confront demons that have haunted her ever since her childhood, when her mother killed her baby sister.
“Darkness Rising” stars Katrina Law, Tara Holt, Bryce Johnson, Heather Mazur, Myk Watford, and Ted Raimi. The debut film from Reading, “Darkness Rising” was produced by Storyboard Entertainment’s Jason Potash and Paul Finkel, in association with Compass Entertainment’s Marcus Fuller, Julie S. Fuller and Daniel Hyman. “Austin’s gripping storytelling is in the perfect hands with IFC, and we are excited to be partnering with their entire team to release this thrilling haunted story,” producer Jason Potash said in a statement.
– Roadside Attractions and LD Entertainment are partnering on the release of Bethany Ashton Wolf’s family romance, “Forever My Girl.” The film tells the story of country music super-star Liam Page who left his bride Josie at the altar choosing fame and fortune instead. However, Liam never got over Josie, his one true love, nor did he ever forget his Southern roots in the small community where he was born and raised. Written and directed by Wolf, “Forever My Girl” is based upon the novel by Heidi McLaughlin. The film stars Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe, Abby Ryder Fortson, Travis Tritt, Judith Hoag and John Benjamin Hickey.
“We fell in love with this special movie the moment we saw it and we are excited to partner again with Mickey Liddell and our friends at LD Entertainment,” Roadside co-presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff said in a statement. “Forever My Girl is the kind of film that will play everywhere but we believe it will play especially well in the heartland.” The film features original country music written for the screen by Brett Boyett. “Forever My Girl” marks the 7th collaboration between Roadside and LD, and will be released wide in theaters on October 27, 2017.
– Grasshopper Film has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to “Spettacolo,” the new documentary from Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen. “Spettacolo” tells the story of villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany who came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues – they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part. The annual tradition kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th anniversary performance just might be its last.
“‘Spettacolo’ is a wonder, the story of a tiny Italian village that for the past half-century has created an alternate world to deal with their own,” Grasshopper CEO Ryan Krivoshey said in a statement. “Seven years after first watching a documentary about an amazing 1/6th scale World War II-era town, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Jeff and Chris on their beautiful new film.” “Spettacolo” received its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival and will open theatrically this fall, followed by a VOD and home video release.
– Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired the North American rights to the Puerto Rican drama “La Granja” (“The Farm”) from first-time director Angel Manuel Soto. The film follows three intersecting stories that focus on the pursuit of happiness and its unanticipated consequences during the economic collapse of the island of Puerto Rico.
“Over the years, Breaking Glass has been doing great things to bring Spanish-language films and introduce them to North American culture and audiences, which makes them a perfect fit for this release,” executive producer Tom Davia said in a statement. “La Granja” held its world premiere at Fantastic Fest and went on to play Tribeca, Raindance, and the Miami International Film Festival.
– Abramorama has acquired the theatrical rights to “Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami who started it all,” a documentary on the life of Srila Prabhupada, the 70-year-old Indian Swami who arrived in America without support or money in the turbulent 1960s. Suddenly thrust into the raging counterculture, he speaks of the world’s real need – a need for a revolution in consciousness. This captures the attention of a generation of youth seeking answers and ignites a worldwide spiritual movement, now known as the Hare Krishna movement.
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“Our relationship with filmmakers exploring and documenting the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment is one that we value and intend to support with our work,” Abramorama’s Richard Abramowitz and Karol Martesko-Fenster said in a statement. “Agnostic, so to speak, about the individual disciplines and denominations, our interest is in adding to the essential conversations about how people develop their inner resources in order to live full and meaningful lives.” Directed by John Griesser and co-directed by Jean Griesser and Lauren Ross, “Hare Krishna!” will have its world premiere at the Illuminate Film Festival on June 3, followed by a nationwide release in theaters beginning in New York City on June 16, 2017.
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