New York, NY October 11, 2011 – Sundance Selects announced today that the company is acquiring North American rights to director Julia Loktev’s drama THE LONELIEST PLANET. The film, with a screenplay also by Loktev, stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Hani Furstenberg and Bidzina Gujabidze. Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Marie Therese Guirgis, and Helge Albers served as producers on the project. The film has recently been screened at the Locarno, Toronto, and New York film festivals.
THE LONELIEST PLANET marks the second time the company has teamed up with Loktev; sister division IFC Films previously released her debut film, DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT.
In the film, a young couple backpacking in the Caucasus mountains finds their love tested when the threat of violence enters their idyllic journey.
Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects, said: "It’s a great honor to be able to continue to work with Julia Loktev with THE LONELIEST PLANET. She’s made a phenomenal film that further establishes her as one of the most exciting talents working in world cinema today. We’re also happy to be working with a great team that includes Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, and Marie Therese Guirgis.”
Noted Loktev: “I’m really excited to work with Sundance Selects. I know they’ll put as much heart into distributing the film as we put into making it.”
The deal for THE LONELIEST PLANET was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Productions, and Jeff Deutchman, Director of Acquisitions, for Sundance Selects with Dana O’Keefe at Cinetic Media on behalf of the filmmakers.
Sundance Selects is a sister division to IFC Films and IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.
About SUNDANCE SELECTS:
Established in 2009 and based in New York City, Sundance Selects is a leading U.S. distributor of prestige films focusing on American independents, documentaries and world cinema. Its unique distribution model makes independent prestige films available to a national audience by releasing them in theaters as well as on cable’s Video On Demand (VOD) platform, reaching nearly 50 million homes. Some of the company’s successes include Abbas Kiarostami’s CERTIFIED COPY starring Juliette Binoche, Sundance audience award-winner BUCK, Academy Award? winner Errol Morris’ documentary TABLOID, and Werner Herzog’s 3D documentary CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, which at $5.2 million and counting has become the company’s biggest grossing success since MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. Current and upcoming Sundance Selects releases include Sundance award-winning THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE: 1967-1974, SXSW award-winner WEEKEND, director Wim Wenders’ 3D PINA which is Germany’s Official entry to the 2012 Academy Awards, Werner Herzog’s acclaimed documentary INTO THE ABYSS, Cannes Grand Prix winner THE KID WITH A BIKE directed by the Dardennes brothers, and Maiwenn’s Cannes Prix du Jury winner POLISS. Sundance Selects is a sister division to IFC Films and IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks, Inc.