Kirby Dick Documentary on MPAA to Open – Unrated by MPAA
New York, NY (June 5, 2006) – IFC Films announced today that it will distribute the controversial documentary THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED, produced by IFC Television. A September 1st release date is planned for New York and Los Angeles, with an expansion to follow. The breakthrough film from Oscar-nominated director Kirby Dick ("Twist Of Faith") and producer Eddie Schmidt is an unprecedented investigation into the MPAA film ratings system, its veil of secrecy and its profound impact on American culture. IFC Films said the film will not be submitted to the MPAA for a rating.
Evan Shapiro, IFC Television's Executive Vice President/General Manager, said, "We chose to support THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED because it is an important film that examines an organization with tremendous power and influence in the movie industry. The film embodies everything that our 'TV. Uncut' brand stands for, namely, the promise that we will support filmmakers and help them bring their unfiltered artistic visions to the public, regardless of how controversial those visions might be."
Jonathan Sehring, President, IFC Entertainment, said, "IFC Films has always been a home to filmmakers who crave unedited expression and we stand behind our mission to provide that voice. Not only is this an important film, it is one that spoke to audiences and critics at this year's Sundance and we believe will find an audience nationwide. We are proud to work with our network colleagues, who produced this documentary with great passion, and are thrilled to bring a theatrical release to the table."
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED will air, uncut, on IFC network on a date to be announced. The film premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, and will be screened [date] for audiences at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The Los Angeles Film Festival screening will feature a new cut crafted recently by Dick. Following the film's New York and Los Angeles premieres, it will open nationally on [date].
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED asks if Hollywood movies and independent films are rated equally for comparable content, and whether keeping the raters and the rating process secret leaves the MPAA entirely unaccountable for its decisions. Director Dick also examines the most controversial ratings decisions in recent history, as well as the MPAA's efforts to protect copyright and control culture in the name of piracy and profit. Ultimately, he tries to uncover Hollywood's best-kept secret: the identities of the ratings board members themselves.
Filmmakers who speak candidly include John Waters ("A Dirty Shame"), Kevin Smith ("Clerks"), Matt Stone ("South Park"), Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don't Cry"), Atom Egoyan ("Where the Truth Lies"), Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream"), Mary Harron ("American Psycho"), actress Maria Bello ("The Cooler") and distributor Bingham Ray (co-founder, October Films and former President, United Artists).
Kirby Dick's previous documentary, Twist of Faith, about a man who confronts the trauma of past sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, debuted in competition at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Another Dick film, Derrida, a complex portrait of the world-renowned French philosopher, premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival and was released theatrically. The prior year, Dick directed the innovative Chain Camera, a portrait of contemporary urban teenage life, which also premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. In 1997, he directed the internationally acclaimed Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Released by Lion's Gate Films, the film earned both an IFP/West Spirit Award Nomination and an International Documentary Association Nomination for Best Feature Documentary of 1998.
ABOUT IFC TELEVISION
The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is the first and most widely distributed network dedicated to independent film 24 hours a day, uncut, uncensored and commercial-free.
The network is part of IFC Companies – the only brand to operate in every area of independent film to include television, production, financing, distribution, digital, on-demand and exhibition. IFC Companies uses its unique cross-platform position to broaden the audience of independent film and to provide independent filmmakers with a strong voice. IFC Companies is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.
ABOUT IFC ENTERTAINMENT
IFC Films is a leading theatrical film distribution company bringing the best of independent and specialized films to theaters. IFC Films releases approximately 10 films per year, building its slate of titles from an aggressive acquisitions program and selected in-house productions. IFC Films is part of IFC Entertainment, which also consists of IFC Productions, InDigEnt (a digital production arm) the new IFC Center in Greenwich Village, and the day and date label, IFC First Take.
Upcoming 2006 IFC films include Patrick Creadon's Wordplay, Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton's Brothers of the Head, Bent Hamer's Factotum and Adrien Shergold's Pierrepoint and Susanne Bier's After the Wedding. IFC Films executive produced Night Listener with Hart Sharp.
Notable IFC Films include Me And You And Everyone We Know, the Academy Award winning Boys Don't Cry, Touching the Void which broke box office records to become among the top ten grossing documentaries of all time, 2003 Oscar-nominated My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Alfonso Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien. IFC Films co-distributed Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and the award winning Transamerica.
For more information and upcoming releases, please visit www.ifcfilms.com.
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Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media creates and manages some of the country's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands including popular national and regional television channels AMC, fuse, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), WE, and three FSN affiliated regional sports networks managed by Rainbow Sports Networks. The company also manages Mag Rack and sportskool, two original on-demand networks; VOOM HD Networks, the largest and most diverse suite of high definition channels available anywhere; IFC Entertainment, its film distribution, production and exhibition division; Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division; and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.