Kino Lorber Lands Sundance Docu ‘Of Fathers and Sons’; Grasshopper Film Takes ‘Notes On An Appearance’

Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. rights to the Talal Derki-directed documentary Of Fathers and Sons, which picked up the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize Award earlier this year at Sundance. The film will be released in theaters in the Fall of 2018 followed by VOD and home video releases are scheduled for early 2019. In the doc, Derki returns to his homeland where he gained the trust of Abu Osama, one of the founders and front members of Al-Nusra, the Syrian arm of Al-Qaeda. He spent two and a half years documenting Osama and his eight young sons who are on the path to becoming Jihadi fighters. Producers are Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, and Tobias Siebert. Richard Lorber and Wendy Lidell of Kino negotiated the deal with Nick Shumaker of UTA, Dan Cogan of Impact Partners and Tobias Siebert from Basis Berlin.

Grasshopper Film has obtained the U.S. distribution rights to Notes on an Appearance, the feature debut from Ricky D’Ambrose. Starring Keith Poulson, Bingham Bryant, and Tallie Medel, the film will hit theaters this summer followed by VOD and home video releases. The plot: A young man’s disappearance is at the center of an enigmatic, haunted film set inside New York City apartments, subway stations, bookstores, and cafes as the supporters of an elusive political theorist embark on a covert program of indiscriminate violence and censure. But Todd and Madeleine, who search for the missing David, soon enter the company of strangers promising diversion and intrigue, and the reasons for David’s disappearance become much less preoccupying — and less meaningful. The deal was crafted by Ryan Krivoshey from Grasshopper with the film’s producer, Graham Swon of Ravenser Odd.