Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to At the Ready, the documentary from Maisie Crow that follows three El Paso teenagers who embark on careers in law enforcement as the debates surrounding immigration and police reform in America reach fever pitches. The doc will be released in theaters and on digital platforms October 22.
Crow’s film focuses on students at El Paso’s Horizon High School, 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, who are part of a criminal justice club, which includes mock-ups of drug raids and active-shooter takedowns as they eye careers with the Border Patrol and in policing and customs enforcement. They soon discover their choices may clash with the values and people they hold most dear.
Crow, Hillary Pierce and Abbie Perrault are producing. Gravitas previously released Pierce’s immigration doc The River and the Wall.
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Gravitas’ Huggins and Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Eric Sloss and Shane Riley at Cinetic Media.
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Scatena & Rosner Films has acquired North American rights to writer/director Elbert van Strien’s supernatural thriller Marionette. The pic was produced by Claudia Brandt and van Strien from Accento Films and Burny Bos from BosBros. Thekla Reuten (In Bruges), Peter Mullan (The Magdalene Sisters), and Elijah Wolf star.
Marionette tells the story of child psychiatrist, Marianne Winter (Reuten), who begins treating a disturbed 10-year-old boy who draws pictures of horrific events that later all come true. Obsessing over this phenomena, Marianne’s life and reality are rent.
The deal was negotiated by Strath Hamilton and Daisy Risher at TriCoast/Rocksalt Releasing, and Gato Scatena and Jordan Rosner at S&R Films. The film was a co-production with Jani Thiltges from Samsa Film and Arabella Page Croft and Kieran Parker from Black Camel Pictures. Further support was provided by The Netherlands Filmfund, the Netherlands Filmproduction Incentive, The Luxemburg Filmfund, Screen Scotland, Avrotros, CoBO Fund and Creative Europe.
Marionette has been sold by Tricoast/Rocksalt Releasing to 73 countries so far, including the Benelux (In the Air, Pathé), UK and Ireland (Signature), CIS, Baltics, Ukraine (Volga), Middle East (Italia), South Korea (Inolmedia) France, Switzerland, French speaking Africa (Koba).
On November 3rd, S&R will launch the film across multiple cable, satellite and VOD platforms, with a release on SVOD platforms to follow.
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Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American VOD rights to the horror comedy Chompy & The Girls, written and directed by Skye Braband. A September 14 digital release has been set.
The pic, which explores issues of mental heath, centers on a troubled and depressed woman (Christie St. John) who meets her father (Steve Marvel) for the first time. The encounter that goes from awkward to alarming when they witness something horrific. A wild ride full of interdimensional entities, scary little girls and crippling insecurities about the future, follow.
Seneca Palliotta, Julie Dolan, Hari Williams, and Reggie Koffman also star, and Udo Kier voices the baddie. Sarah De Leon, Marty Lang and Braband produced. Executive producer is Citizen Skull Productions’ Mark Myers.