FilmRise Acquires Home Media Rights from Gravitas Ventures to Eight Films

FilmRise announced today that it has acquired from Gravitas Ventures exclusive North American home media rights to eight films, including "I'm Crazy About Tiffany's," "Peace Officer," and "Requiem for the American Dream." The films will be released by the distributor on DVD and Blu-ray beginning Winter 2016. Additional titles in the deal include: "The Kids Menu," "Raven's Touch," "Last Man on the Moon," "Why I'm Not on Facebook" and "Band of Robbers."

From the producers of "Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's," comes "I'm Crazy About Tiffany's," a look inside the jewelry brand that has captivated the world for over 150 years with its legendary jewels, signature blue box and timeless elegance and sophistication. With the a star-studded cast of interviewees including Jessica Biel, Katie Couric, Baz Luhrmann and others, this fully authorized documentary seeks to capture how a simple jewelry store has woven itself into the American culture and consciousness to become an unparalleled global phenomenon.

"Peace Officer" explores the increasingly militarized state of American police, as told through the story of "Dub" Lawrence, a former sheriff who established and trained his rural state's first SWAT team, only to see that same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff 30 years later. The documentary is a winner of the 2015 Jury Award at SXSW, 2015 Audience Award at SXSW, 2015 Official Selection at Hot Docs and 2015 Kathleen Bryan Edwards for Human Rights at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

Making its U.S. debut to rave reviews at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, "Requiem for the American Dream" is the definitive discourse with Noam Chomsky, widely regarded as the most important intellectual alive, on the defining characteristic of our time - the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few. Through interviews filmed over four years, Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation.

Other films in the deal include "The Kids Menu," the eye-opening documentary about childhood obesity, and the larger issues that contribute to it, from the team behind "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead"; the SXSW Official Selection "Last Man on the Moon"; the lesbian romance "Raven's Touch"; Brant Pinvidic's fascinating documentary "Why I'm Not on Facebook;" and the Mark Twain-inspired crime caper comedy, "Band of Robbers," starring Kyle Gallner ("American Sniper") and Matthew Gray Gubler ("Criminal Minds").

Just last fall, FilmRise partnered with Gravitas Ventures in the acquisition of the exclusive North American home media rights to nine films, including "Back in Time," "All Things Must Past" and "Being Evel." The distributor has also licensed from Gravitas Ventures the music documentary, "Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of" and the docu-horror, "The Nightmare."

"We are delighted to be widening the audience of this exceptional group of films, by releasing them on DVD and Blu-ray," said FilmRise CEO, Danny Fisher. "We look forward to our continued partnership with Gravitas Ventures, who has allotted us to bring into people's homes a remarkable slate of films thus far."

"We are thrilled to continue our fruitful relationship with FilmRise with this wonderful collection of films," said Gravitas Ventures CEO Nolan Gallagher. "These films cover an incredible breadth of topics that a variety audiences have enjoyed in theaters and on the festival circuit, and we are confident that FilmRise will carry on their success to DVD and Blu-ray."

The deal was negotiated between Fisher and FilmRise's VP of Acquisitions Max Einhorn with Gallagher.

ABOUT FILMRISE

FilmRise is a film and TV distribution company founded by veteran producer/financiers Danny Fisher, Jack Fisher and Alan Klingenstein. With over 6,000 titles in a wide range of genres, the company's recent film acquisitions and releases include HBO's multiple Emmy®-winning "Going Clear," the "Toxic Avenger" series, the hit documentary "All Things Must Pass," the Global Lens Collection and Slamdance Audience-award winner "Hank and Asha." Television titles include hit series such as Showtime's Emmy®-winning "Years of Living Dangerously," and the longest running true crime show on television "Forensic Files." Titles are in release digitally on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Netflix Instant Watch, Hulu, VUDU, Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Crackle, Fandor and other platforms, and on DVD and BluRay on Amazon and over 200 online retailers, including Walmart and Barnes & Noble. FilmRise's most recent acquisitions are the 2015 Cannes Classics selection "Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans"; the highest grossing film in China's history, "Monster Hunt"; "Janis: Little Girl Blue," from Oscar®-winning producer Alex Gibney and Oscar®-nominated director Amy Berg; "Lolo," the latest film from two-time Oscar® nominee Julie Delpy; and the Stars War documentary "Elstree 1976." For more information go to: www.FilmRise.com

ABOUT GRAVITAS VENTURES

Gravitas Ventures is a leading all rights distributor of independent cinema. Founded in 2006, Gravitas connects independent filmmakers and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe. Working with more than 500 content partners, Gravitas Ventures has distributed thousands of films into over 100 million homes. Recent releases include Sundance smash PING PONG SUMMER with Susan Sarandon, THE LONGEST WEEK starring Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde, FELONY, starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Wilkinson, MANNY, BACKSTREET BOYS: SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF and SPIKE Lee's DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS. Upcoming titles include ADDICTED TO FRESNO starring Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne, Colin Hanks' ALL THINGS MUST PASS and the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Award winning documentary PEACE OFFICER. For more information, please visit www.gravitasventures.com and follow @GravitasVOD.

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