Independent Spirit and Gotham Award Nominated Film Will be Released Theatrically in New York City at the Cinema Village on October 2nd and Nationwide On VOD September 30th
New York (NY) (September 18, 2009) – IFC Films has acquired North American rights to AFTERSCHOOL, the debut feature of Antonio Campos. The film premiered to great acclaim at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and went on to screen at New York, AFI, SXSW and the Berlin Film Festivals. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Film and for two Gotham awards including Breakthrough Director and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. The cast of AFTERSCHOOL includes Ezra Miller, making his feature film debut, Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) and Rosemarie Dewitt (Rachel Getting Married). The film was produced by Sean Durkin and Josh Mond from Borderline Films in association with Hidden Street Productions.
Josh Braun from Submarine negotiated the deals for AFTERSCHOOL with IFC Films’ Arianna Bocco. IFC Films will release AFTERSCHOOL October 2nd via its IFC in Theaters program at the Cinema Village in New York. The film will also be available nationwide on VOD beginning September 30th.
AFTERSHCOOL is set in the insulated world of a New England prep school. Robert, a withdrawn student who more or less lives on the Internet, unwittingly captures on video the sudden deaths by drug overdose of a pair of popular twin girls. As the school goes through an official mourning process, complete with the production of a memorial video, Robert becomes increasingly fragile. Solace, comfort, and true resolution are out of reach, and there is nothing but distraction and displacement.
Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, "AFTERSCHOOL is one of the most exciting debut films we’ve come across in quite awhile. We look forward to introducing Antonio to American audiences and are happy to continue to promote new talent as we have in the past with Miranda July, Steve McQueen, Julia Loktev, Barry Jenkins and Christopher Nolan."
Sean Durkin and Josh Mond from Borderline Films said, "We are very excited AFTERSCHOOL has found a home with IFC Films. They continue to release some of the most challenging films from around the world, and we’re happy AFTERSCHOOL is now a part of their distinguished library."
About The Filmmaker
Antonio Campos, 25has directed more than 20 short films. At 21, his short film BUY IT NOW had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival cinefoundation where it won first prize. Campos attended the Cannes Residence Program in 2006 in Paris where he wrote the screenplay for AFTERSCHOOL. In 2007, he returned to Cannes with his short film THE LAST 15 which was in competition. He attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Film studies department, where he formed the production company Borderline Films with classmates Josh Mond and Sean Durkin.
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.
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multiplatform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC (The Independent Film Channel), WE tv, Sundance Channel, IFC Entertainment and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign film with a unique day and date distribution model, "IFC In Theaters," that makes films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform; IFC Festival Direct features titles acquired from major international film festivals and initially offers them exclusively through On Demand; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Center, a state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, an advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, a full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.