Film Premiered Last Year at the Edinburgh Film Festival and Will be Released in 2009 via IFC Films’ Festival Direct Movies-On-Demand Label
Drama is Director Bernard Rose’s Third Film Adaptation of a Leo Tolstoy Novel
New York, NY – February 10, 2009 – IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors for independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired US distribution rights to THE KREUTZER SONATA, a gripping dissection of a modern marriage starring Danny Huston, Elisabeth Rohm, Matthew Yang King and featuring a cameo appearance by Anjelica Huston. Written and directed by Bernard Rose, the acclaimed director of IMMORTAL BELOVED, the film premiered last year at the Edinburgh Film Festival and was also shown at the Oldenburg Film Festival. THE KREUTZER SONATA is a modern re-telling of the Leo Tolstoy novella of the same name which was inspired by the music of Beethoven. The film marks the third time Bernard Rose has adapted Tolstoy for the screen, following the critically acclaimed IVANS XTC in 2000 in ANNA KARENINA in 1997. Rose collaborated with Lisa Enos on the script and the film was produced by Enos and Naomi Despres. The deal for THE KREUTZER SONATA was negotiated by Arianna Bocco for IFC Films with Eric Stevens from the Independent.
IFC will release THE KREUTZER SONATA in 2009 under its Festival Direct movies-on-demand label. Festival Direct was launched last year to give national exposure to critically-acclaimed independent films screened at marquee film festivals each year. Beginning in 2009, IFC Films expanded its Festival Direct lineup to include up to 12 titles a month, doubling its monthly output from last year. IFC Films has also begun the publishing of a quarterly program guide which will be available in arthouse movie theaters.
THE KREUTZER SONATA tells the story of a husband (Danny Huston) who becomes consumed with jealousy to the point where he tests his beautiful wife’s (Elisabeth Rohm) fidelity. As his paranoia takes hold he becomes convinced that she is having an affair with a young handsome violinist (Yang King) which leads to a terrifying and tragic climax. The film is a modern re-telling of the Leo Tolstoy novella of the same name, inspired by the music of Beethoven.
Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, "Bernard Rose, Leo Tolstoy and Beethoven is a winning combination and we are incredibly excited to have THE KREUTZER SONATA in our 2009 Festival Direct lineup. It’s an extremely well-crafted film with incredible performances by Danny Huston, Elisabeth Rohm and Anjelica Huston."
Eric Stevens from the Independent Film Company said, "We’re delighted that THE KREUTZER SONATA has found a home with IFC. They are at the forefront of new distribution models, which will help the film reach a significant audience in America."
About IFC Entertainment
A leader in the independent film industry, IFC Entertainment consists of multiple brands that are devoted to bringing the best of specialty films to the largest possible audience: IFC Films, Festival Direct, IFC Productions, and the IFC Center. IFC Films is a leading distributor of independent film. Its unique day and date distribution model, ’IFC In Theaters,’ makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform and through Pay-Per-View, reaching 50 million homes. ’IFC Festival Direct’ features a wide selection of titles acquired from major international film festivals and offers them exclusively through Video on Demand. IFC Productions is a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects. IFC Center is a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema with luxurious seating and HD digital and 35mm projection that shows art-house films in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. IFC Entertainment’s companies are subsidiaries of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.