EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to the public health documentary The End of Medicine, executive produced by two-time Oscar nominee Rooney Mara and Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix, with plans to release it in theaters and on digital and VOD platforms this summer.
The film from BAFTA-winning director Alex Lockwood and writer-producer Keegan Kuhn explores the link between our treatment of animals and emerging health threats such as pandemics and antibiotic resistance. It specifically looks at zoonotic diseases—germs and viruses that spread between human and non-human animals—which threaten the health and lives of the entire human population.
The End of Medicine entered production in October 2019, shortly before Covid-19 began headlines around the world. It features interviews with some of the world’s leading scientists whose research and testimonies conclude that the public health emergency we are presently facing was inevitable and is far from over.
“We have been frustrated with the failure of mainstream media to properly address the threat of disease coming from animal agriculture, both before and during the current pandemic,” said Lockwood and Kuhn. “The End Of Medicine is an alarm bell and warning of what is to come if we don’t change.”
“The End of Medicine is an incredibly timely documentary with an important message that directly addresses the relationship between the treatment of animals and pandemics,” said Gravitas Ventures’ Manager of Acquisitions, Brett Rogalsky. “Gravitas is proud to be able to share it with audiences.”
“We are pleased to serve as executive producers of The End of Medicine to raise awareness about the third leading global cause of death – antimicrobial resistance. We became fans of director Alex Lockwood after seeing his BAFTA-winning documentary short, 73 Cows, and were touched by his thoughtful and determined approach to storytelling,” added Mara and Phoenix. “Together with producer Keegan Kuhn (Cowspiracy, What the Health), The End of Medicine explores how dangerously close the human population is to complete antimicrobial resistance, the government’s complicity and collaboration with the animal agriculture industry, and how unprepared we are for what’s to come if we continue to ignore the evidence around us.
“The animal agriculture industry props up its business of keeping thousands upon thousands of animals housed in soiled conditions by the overuse of antibiotics,” the exec producers continued. “We cannot exploit and manipulate other animals on a massive scale without corresponding and terrifying consequences.”
Indie distributor Gravitas Ventures was founded in 2006 and sold to multi-platform media company Anthem Sports & Entertainment in November. The company has also recently acquired titles including Gigi Agladze’s thriller The Other Me, exec produced by David Lynch; Daniel Robinette’s psychological horror film, Tethered; Martha Coolidge’s romance I’ll Find You; Adrian Martinez’s feature directorial debut iGilbert; the Kathy Bates drama Home, from writer-director Franka Potente; family adventure film The King’s Daughter, starring Pierce Brosnan; Jason Pollock’s doc Finding Kendrick Johnson; and The Accursed, a horror film marking the feature directorial debut of writer-directors Elizabeta Vidovic and Kathryn Michell, among others.
Rogalsky negotiated the deal to acquire The End of Medicine with WME.
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