‘A Gray State’, Docu About The Death Of David Crowley, Lands At First Run Features

First Run Features has acquired rights to A Gray State, the documentary from A&E IndieFilms that examines the death of David Crowley, the Iraq War veteran-turned-filmmaker who was found dead with his family in 2015. That came after the enthusiastic reaction of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right to his film Gray State, which was set an a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government. The deaths quickly became fodder for conspiracy theorists who believed Crowley was getting too close to the truth.

The pic, which bowed at Tribeca this year, will get a November theatrical release and later bow on A&E Network. First Run plans an awards push for it.

Directed by Grizzly Man producer Erik Nelson and executive produced by Werner
Herzog, the docu combs through Crowley’s archive of 13,000 photographs, hundreds of hours of home video and behind-the-scenes footage of Gray State in progress.

“We are very pleased to partner with First Run Features to bring A Gray State to a wider audience, said Molly Thompson SVP Feature Films at A+E Networks and an exec producer with Herzog. “The film is a powerful story that tackles some very relevant themes for our time, including the dark consequences of extreme media.”

Amy Briamonte is producer, and Submarine negotiated the deal with First Run.