Alice Koh, who exec produced such recent documentaries as Kusama: Infinity and Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable, died suddenly of a heart attack at her home in New York City on January 21, a spokesperson for the Koh family tells Deadline. She was 51.
Koh was born in Los Angeles on December 9, 1970, first segueing into film work in 2015. With the former doc from director Heather Lenz, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, she helped spotlight the life and work of the internationally renowned artist Yayoi Kusama. With the latter, from Sasha Waters Freyer, which won the SXSW Film Festival’s Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature, she placed her focus on the iconic American still photographer known for his shots of 1960s New York City.
Koh’s creative partner was her brother, the award-winning film producer David Koh, with whom she hosted a film salon at the Roxy Hotel Cinema for several years.
Koh was born in Los Angeles on December 9, 1970, first segueing into film work in 2015. With the former doc from director Heather Lenz, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, she helped spotlight the life and work of the internationally renowned artist Yayoi Kusama. With the latter, from Sasha Waters Freyer, which won the SXSW Film Festival’s Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature, she placed her focus on the iconic American still photographer known for his shots of 1960s New York City.
Koh’s creative partner was her brother, the award-winning film producer David Koh, with whom she hosted a film salon at the Roxy Hotel Cinema for several years.
- 2/28/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
I have to admit my knowledge of the modern art world is very limited, and therefore I did not know who Yayoi Kusama is. At the end of this documentary, I have truly regretted my lack of knowledge, because Kusama is not only one of the greatest living artists, but also an extremely interesting individual.
Kusama Infinity is screening at the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase
The film explores Yayoi Kusama’s journey from the 30s in Japan, and the turbulent relationship with her family and particularly her mother regarding her wish to become an artist and not to get married, to her move to America after sending fan mail across the sea to Georgia O’Keefe, the meager fame she enjoyed in the 60’s (where she rivaled Andy Warhol for press attention), her activist work during the war in Vietnam which deemed her a persona-non-grata in her hometown,...
Kusama Infinity is screening at the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase
The film explores Yayoi Kusama’s journey from the 30s in Japan, and the turbulent relationship with her family and particularly her mother regarding her wish to become an artist and not to get married, to her move to America after sending fan mail across the sea to Georgia O’Keefe, the meager fame she enjoyed in the 60’s (where she rivaled Andy Warhol for press attention), her activist work during the war in Vietnam which deemed her a persona-non-grata in her hometown,...
- 3/29/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
I have to admit my knowledge of the modern art world is very limited, and therefore I did not know who Yayoi Kusama is. At the end of this documentary, I have truly regretted my lack of knowledge, because Kusama is not only one of the greatest living artists, but also an extremely interesting individual.
Kusama Infinity screened at the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase
The film explores Yayoi Kusama’s journey from the 30s in Japan, and the turbulent relationship with her family and particularly her mother regarding her wish to become an artist and not to get married, to her move to America after sending fan mail across the sea to Georgia O’Keefe, the meager fame she enjoyed in the 60’s (where she rivaled Andy Warhol for press attention), her activist work during the war in Vietnam which deemed her a persona-non-grata in her hometown,...
Kusama Infinity screened at the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase
The film explores Yayoi Kusama’s journey from the 30s in Japan, and the turbulent relationship with her family and particularly her mother regarding her wish to become an artist and not to get married, to her move to America after sending fan mail across the sea to Georgia O’Keefe, the meager fame she enjoyed in the 60’s (where she rivaled Andy Warhol for press attention), her activist work during the war in Vietnam which deemed her a persona-non-grata in her hometown,...
- 1/3/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi‘s “Free Solo” leads the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards with six bids, including Best Documentary and Best Director. Also nabbing nominations in those two top categories is Bing Liu‘s “Minding the Gap,” which is also in the running for Best First Time Director, as well as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Dark Money,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” and “Three Identical Strangers.” In all 10 films were nominated for the top prize at these awards bestowed by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. (Bfca). The other four are “Crime + Punishment,” “Hal,” “Rbg,” and “Wild Wild Country.”
Last year the Bfca nominated 16 films for this award, three of which –“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” “Faces Places,” and “Strong Island” — went on to contend at the Oscars. And in 2016 the Bfca shared its Best Documentary winner (“O.J.: Made in America”) with the Academy...
Last year the Bfca nominated 16 films for this award, three of which –“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” “Faces Places,” and “Strong Island” — went on to contend at the Oscars. And in 2016 the Bfca shared its Best Documentary winner (“O.J.: Made in America”) with the Academy...
- 10/16/2018
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo,” which captured rock climber Alex Honnold’s hair-raising ascent of Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-foot El Capitan rock formation, led the nominations for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, it was revealed Monday. The film netted six nominations including best documentary and best director.
Close behind with five mentions each were “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country,” from Hulu and Netflix respectively.
Voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics and Television Journalists Assns., the awards will be presented at a gala event hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The nominees are:
Best Documentary
“Crime + Punishment” – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
“Dark Money” – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
“Free Solo” – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Hal” – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope)
“Hitler’s Hollywood” – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland...
Close behind with five mentions each were “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country,” from Hulu and Netflix respectively.
Voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics and Television Journalists Assns., the awards will be presented at a gala event hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The nominees are:
Best Documentary
“Crime + Punishment” – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
“Dark Money” – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
“Free Solo” – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Hal” – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope)
“Hitler’s Hollywood” – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland...
- 10/15/2018
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced the nominees for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. The winners will be presented their awards at a gala event, hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye, on Saturday, November 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo” leads this year with six nominations and one honor, including Best Documentary, Best Directors, Best Sports Documentary, Most Innovative Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and a Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary honor for Alex Honnold. “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country” follow with five nominations each, with “Dark Money,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” each earning four nods.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s outstanding documentary work at the upcoming event,” said Broadcast Film Critics Association President...
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo” leads this year with six nominations and one honor, including Best Documentary, Best Directors, Best Sports Documentary, Most Innovative Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and a Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary honor for Alex Honnold. “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country” follow with five nominations each, with “Dark Money,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” each earning four nods.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s outstanding documentary work at the upcoming event,” said Broadcast Film Critics Association President...
- 10/15/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A celebratory introduction to the work of Yayoi Kusama, Japan’s biggest-selling living artist, hints at the roots of her obsessive pattern-making
Heather Lenz’s film is a brief, celebratory introduction to the work of Japan’s biggest-selling living artist: 89-year-old Yayoi Kusama. She rebelled against her stiflingly reactionary upbringing in provincial Matsumoto for a lifelong adventure in art. With vast, tapestry-like canvases and witty soft-material sculptures she experimented in abstract impressionism, pop art, and also live public-space happenings involving the naked body. Her career really began in New York, where she became a succès de scandale in the counter-culture scene, but she returned in early middle age to Matsumoto, where she had been widely reviled for her controversial artworks. In many ways, this is a story of a woman who had to fight her way to the top all over again, having battled depression, the complacent sexism and bland...
Heather Lenz’s film is a brief, celebratory introduction to the work of Japan’s biggest-selling living artist: 89-year-old Yayoi Kusama. She rebelled against her stiflingly reactionary upbringing in provincial Matsumoto for a lifelong adventure in art. With vast, tapestry-like canvases and witty soft-material sculptures she experimented in abstract impressionism, pop art, and also live public-space happenings involving the naked body. Her career really began in New York, where she became a succès de scandale in the counter-culture scene, but she returned in early middle age to Matsumoto, where she had been widely reviled for her controversial artworks. In many ways, this is a story of a woman who had to fight her way to the top all over again, having battled depression, the complacent sexism and bland...
- 10/5/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
When making a documentary chronicling the life and work of an iconic artist it is necessary and downright vital to interrogate why their art struck a chord in the first place. It is not acceptable to present things in a matter of fact way that is no different from reading about their life on Wikipedia. The genre of documentary filmmaking often settles for what is expected instead of bursting the formula of “interview-clip-interview” wide open, making for a sameness that is only disrupted in the differentiation in subject material–but the subjects need better, more daring treatment. This is especially the case if we are talking about an artist as revolutionary and vast as Yayoi Kusama.
Director Heather Lenz’s Kusama—Infinity settles for the typical construction one finds in most documentaries. There’s plenty of archival footage, arranged chronologically, interspersed with interviews here and there stressing the importance of...
Director Heather Lenz’s Kusama—Infinity settles for the typical construction one finds in most documentaries. There’s plenty of archival footage, arranged chronologically, interspersed with interviews here and there stressing the importance of...
- 9/3/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Yayoi Kusama, 89, is the most successful living female artist. Her pieces have fetched up to $7 million and, at any given time, she has handfuls of exhibitions on view at museums and galleries across the world. (Right now: Indonesia, New York, Cleveland and Los Angeles, the latter at Marciano Foundation.)
Her immense popularity — driven in part thanks to the selfie craze, which has led museum patrons to wait in hours-long lines just for pics inside her Infinity Mirror Rooms — came as a shock to documentarian Heather Lenz, who had been following Kusama's life and career rather closely ...
Her immense popularity — driven in part thanks to the selfie craze, which has led museum patrons to wait in hours-long lines just for pics inside her Infinity Mirror Rooms — came as a shock to documentarian Heather Lenz, who had been following Kusama's life and career rather closely ...
- 8/20/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Yayoi Kusama, 89, is the most successful living female artist. Her pieces have fetched up to $7 million and, at any given time, she has handfuls of exhibitions on view at museums and galleries across the world. (Right now: Indonesia, New York, Cleveland and Los Angeles, the latter at Marciano Foundation.)
Her immense popularity — driven in part thanks to the selfie craze, which has led museum patrons to wait in hours-long lines just for pics inside her Infinity Mirror Rooms — came as a shock to documentarian Heather Lenz, who had been following Kusama's life and career rather closely ...
Her immense popularity — driven in part thanks to the selfie craze, which has led museum patrons to wait in hours-long lines just for pics inside her Infinity Mirror Rooms — came as a shock to documentarian Heather Lenz, who had been following Kusama's life and career rather closely ...
- 8/20/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"I come up with new ideas so quickly. My canvas can't keep up with me." Magnolia Pictures has debuted the first official trailer for Heather Lenz's fascinating artist documentary Kusama - Infinity, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Lenz's Kusama - Infinity profiles world-renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, now 89 years old and still creating. The film "traces Kusama’s trajectory from a conservative upbringing in Japan to battling sexism and racism in 1960s NYC to her unstoppable rise to international fame." She has re-established her prominence with the highly successful "Infinity Room" and other recent art projects and global exhibitions. I saw this at Sundance and it's a wonderful, intriguing, inspiring doc film about a truly masterful artist, spanning her entire life and career. Highly recommended. Here's the official trailer (+ two posters) for Heather Lenz's Kusama - Infinity, direct from YouTube: Now the...
- 8/16/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Sundance docs Matangi / Maya / M.I.A and Kusama – Infinity have scored deals in Europe and Asia for UK sales outfit Dogwoof.
The former, Steve Loveridge’s music-biopic of Sri Lankan singer and outspoken activist M.I.A, premiered in Sundance, followed by a European premiere in Berlin. Dogwoof has signed deals with Beat Films (Cis), Anticipate Pictures (Singapore), Non Stop, Avalon (Spain), Mad Man, I Wonder (Italy) and Against Gravity (Poland). Cinereach will distribute in the U.S later this summer.
Kusama – Infinity, Heather Lenz’s feature tracing the life of contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, has gone to Eurozoom (France), Weltkino (Germany), Feltrinelli (Italy), Avalon (Spain), Atrium (South Korea), Doc Film Centre (Russia) and Movies Matter (Thailand). Previous sales include Mad Man (Australia and New Zealand), Edko (Hong Kong), Non Stop (Scandinavia), Joint Ent (Taiwan) and Nueva Era (Mexico). Magnolia has U.S.
The former, Steve Loveridge’s music-biopic of Sri Lankan singer and outspoken activist M.I.A, premiered in Sundance, followed by a European premiere in Berlin. Dogwoof has signed deals with Beat Films (Cis), Anticipate Pictures (Singapore), Non Stop, Avalon (Spain), Mad Man, I Wonder (Italy) and Against Gravity (Poland). Cinereach will distribute in the U.S later this summer.
Kusama – Infinity, Heather Lenz’s feature tracing the life of contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, has gone to Eurozoom (France), Weltkino (Germany), Feltrinelli (Italy), Avalon (Spain), Atrium (South Korea), Doc Film Centre (Russia) and Movies Matter (Thailand). Previous sales include Mad Man (Australia and New Zealand), Edko (Hong Kong), Non Stop (Scandinavia), Joint Ent (Taiwan) and Nueva Era (Mexico). Magnolia has U.S.
- 5/8/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Women in Film is now accepting applications for its 2018 Finishing Fund and Belgian beer Stella Artois continuing its support of female filmmakers with the announcement of $100,000 in new grant funding.
The Women in Film Finishing Fund will award 10-15 grants in cash and in-kind gifts for films by and/or about women as represented in documentary, fiction, animated and/or experimental films, shorts or feature length. Stella Artois will provide four $25,000 grants for fiction and documentary films that inspire social change, with particular consideration given to films with a water theme.
To kick off the opening of the submission period, Wif and Stella Artois will host a screening of director Amy Adrion’s documentary “Half the Picture” in Los Angeles Thursday night. The film – a Stella Artois-funded Film Finishing Fund grant recipient last year — examines Hollywood’s discrimination against female filmmakers in the hiring of film and television directors, and features interviews with Ava DuVernay, Lena Dunham, Jill Soloway and others.
The film had its World Premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will open theatrically in June.
Also Read: Power Lunch With Dakota Fanning: 'You're Not Telling a Women's Story, You're Telling a Human Story' (Exclusive Video)
“The support from Stella Artois has truly magnified the impact of the Fund for our filmmakers,” said Wif executive director Kirsten Schaffer. “We have seen this in both their financial assistance toward completion of the films and also the platform given to these filmmakers through events like the ‘Filmmaker Roundtable’ at Sundance Film Festival. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Stella Artois in empowering the next generation of films.”
An advocate of film and its community, Stella Artois hopes to inspire up-and-coming female filmmakers as the 2019 festival season approaches.
“By funding these grants, we’re thrilled to continue our commitment to women in the film industry and help them achieve their dreams,” said Stella Artois brand director, Anna Rogers. “It’s incredibly exciting to follow these films as they make a difference in the world and we hope to encourage other filmmakers to use their medium to do the same.”
Since its inception in 1985, the Film Finishing Fund has awarded more than $2 million worth of grants to cover 235 films from all over the world, films that have gone on to win Academy, Peabody, Berlin FilmFestival and Sundance Awards. This year alone, past grant winners premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, like, Amy Adrion’s “Half the Picture,” Stephanie Soechtig’s “The Devil We Know,” Christina Choe’s “Nancy,” and Heather Lenz’s “Kusama: Infinity.”
Applications are being accepted beginning April 26 through June 30 for the Women in Film Finishing Fund grants. Recipients will be announced in November. Interested filmmakers can visit the Wif website http://womeninfilm.org. Entrants do not have to be Women in Film members to apply for a grant. Detailed requirements will be available in the online application.
Read original story Women in Film’s $100,000 Finishing Fund Grants Open for Submission At TheWrap...
The Women in Film Finishing Fund will award 10-15 grants in cash and in-kind gifts for films by and/or about women as represented in documentary, fiction, animated and/or experimental films, shorts or feature length. Stella Artois will provide four $25,000 grants for fiction and documentary films that inspire social change, with particular consideration given to films with a water theme.
To kick off the opening of the submission period, Wif and Stella Artois will host a screening of director Amy Adrion’s documentary “Half the Picture” in Los Angeles Thursday night. The film – a Stella Artois-funded Film Finishing Fund grant recipient last year — examines Hollywood’s discrimination against female filmmakers in the hiring of film and television directors, and features interviews with Ava DuVernay, Lena Dunham, Jill Soloway and others.
The film had its World Premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will open theatrically in June.
Also Read: Power Lunch With Dakota Fanning: 'You're Not Telling a Women's Story, You're Telling a Human Story' (Exclusive Video)
“The support from Stella Artois has truly magnified the impact of the Fund for our filmmakers,” said Wif executive director Kirsten Schaffer. “We have seen this in both their financial assistance toward completion of the films and also the platform given to these filmmakers through events like the ‘Filmmaker Roundtable’ at Sundance Film Festival. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Stella Artois in empowering the next generation of films.”
An advocate of film and its community, Stella Artois hopes to inspire up-and-coming female filmmakers as the 2019 festival season approaches.
“By funding these grants, we’re thrilled to continue our commitment to women in the film industry and help them achieve their dreams,” said Stella Artois brand director, Anna Rogers. “It’s incredibly exciting to follow these films as they make a difference in the world and we hope to encourage other filmmakers to use their medium to do the same.”
Since its inception in 1985, the Film Finishing Fund has awarded more than $2 million worth of grants to cover 235 films from all over the world, films that have gone on to win Academy, Peabody, Berlin FilmFestival and Sundance Awards. This year alone, past grant winners premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, like, Amy Adrion’s “Half the Picture,” Stephanie Soechtig’s “The Devil We Know,” Christina Choe’s “Nancy,” and Heather Lenz’s “Kusama: Infinity.”
Applications are being accepted beginning April 26 through June 30 for the Women in Film Finishing Fund grants. Recipients will be announced in November. Interested filmmakers can visit the Wif website http://womeninfilm.org. Entrants do not have to be Women in Film members to apply for a grant. Detailed requirements will be available in the online application.
Read original story Women in Film’s $100,000 Finishing Fund Grants Open for Submission At TheWrap...
- 4/27/2018
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Film programs include a retrospective on Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad, a new film from one of the most-recognizable artists in Asia, Sylvia Chang (“Love Education”) and another from veteran Asian Canadian director Mina Shum (“Meditation Park”).
Eight Māori female directors deliver “Waru,” a film in which all eight parts start at 10 a.m., are told in real time, are a single 10-minute take and each feature a Māori female lead.
San Diego, California – March 22, 2018 – The 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival (Sdaff) Spring Showcase , presented by Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts), today announced its lineup of 15 films from nine countries, including four North American premieres, one west coast premiere and the only third-ever U.S. retrospective on prolific Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad.
“Once again, Asian filmmakers took our breath away with wide-ranging works that demonstrate the diversity of experiences and sensibilities on three continents,” says Pac Arts Artistic Director Brian Hu.
Eight Māori female directors deliver “Waru,” a film in which all eight parts start at 10 a.m., are told in real time, are a single 10-minute take and each feature a Māori female lead.
San Diego, California – March 22, 2018 – The 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival (Sdaff) Spring Showcase , presented by Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts), today announced its lineup of 15 films from nine countries, including four North American premieres, one west coast premiere and the only third-ever U.S. retrospective on prolific Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad.
“Once again, Asian filmmakers took our breath away with wide-ranging works that demonstrate the diversity of experiences and sensibilities on three continents,” says Pac Arts Artistic Director Brian Hu.
- 4/5/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Lorna Tucker’s Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist premiered at Sundance in January.
Documentary specialist Dogwoof has secured a flurry of deals on two of its big sales titles at this week’s European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin.
Lorna Tucker’s Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist – the feature doc about British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood – has sold to Us (Greenwich Entertainment), Canada (Films We Like), Scandinavia (Non Stop), Cis and Russia (Pioner), China TV rights (Dd Dream), Thailand (Movies Matter) and world inflight (Jaguar).
Previously announced territories were China (Tencent), Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Nfp), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Switzerland (Nfp), Hong Kong (Edko), and Japan (Kadokawa).
The film premiered at Sundance in January, Dogwoof will release in the UK on March 23. Producers on the project were Eleanor Emptage, Shirine Best, Nicole Stott, and John Battsek. Executive producers were Anna Godas and Leo Haidar.
Dogwoof has also racked up deals on Kusama – Infinity, Heather Lenz’s portrait...
Documentary specialist Dogwoof has secured a flurry of deals on two of its big sales titles at this week’s European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin.
Lorna Tucker’s Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist – the feature doc about British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood – has sold to Us (Greenwich Entertainment), Canada (Films We Like), Scandinavia (Non Stop), Cis and Russia (Pioner), China TV rights (Dd Dream), Thailand (Movies Matter) and world inflight (Jaguar).
Previously announced territories were China (Tencent), Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Nfp), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Switzerland (Nfp), Hong Kong (Edko), and Japan (Kadokawa).
The film premiered at Sundance in January, Dogwoof will release in the UK on March 23. Producers on the project were Eleanor Emptage, Shirine Best, Nicole Stott, and John Battsek. Executive producers were Anna Godas and Leo Haidar.
Dogwoof has also racked up deals on Kusama – Infinity, Heather Lenz’s portrait...
- 2/18/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Kusama – Infinity, a documentary about Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama that premiered Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival.
Terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed. Heather Lenz wrote, directed and produced the U.S. Documentary Competition entry about the best-selling female artist known for her Pop Art style and prolific use of polka dots.
"Kusama – Infinity is a beautifully crafted and moving portrait of one of the most intriguing artists of our time,” Magnolia Pictures president Eamonn Bowles said Thursday in a statement.
Added Lenz in her own statement: "After many of...
Terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed. Heather Lenz wrote, directed and produced the U.S. Documentary Competition entry about the best-selling female artist known for her Pop Art style and prolific use of polka dots.
"Kusama – Infinity is a beautifully crafted and moving portrait of one of the most intriguing artists of our time,” Magnolia Pictures president Eamonn Bowles said Thursday in a statement.
Added Lenz in her own statement: "After many of...
- 1/25/2018
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Kusama – Infinity, the Heather Lenz documentary about famed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The pic premiered over the weekend in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Kusama, who grew up up in Japan during World War II, overcame life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, mental illness in a culture where that was a particular…...
- 1/25/2018
- Deadline
Annapurna understood to be closing on Sorry To Bother You.
Sundance deal flow quickened up on Thursday (January 25) as Saban Films acquired North American rights to Lizzie, Magnolia Pictures took Kusama – Infinity, and Spc acquired Puzzle.
Meanwhile Annapurna was understood to be closing worldwide rights on Boots Riley’s sci-fi satire Sorry To Bother You following that film’s premiere in U.S. Dramatic Competition over the weekend.
Saban will partner with Roadside Attractions on a summer theatrical release for Craig William Macneill’s period drama Lizzie, which stars Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart and is based on Bryce Kass’s screenplay about the unsolved 19th century Borden murders.
Sevigny plays Borden, who lives under her father’s domineering control until she meets and falls for the family maid Bridget Sullivan (Stewart) and was subsequently put on trial for the murder of her father and step-mother. Lizzie premiered last Friday in U.S. Dramatic Competition...
Sundance deal flow quickened up on Thursday (January 25) as Saban Films acquired North American rights to Lizzie, Magnolia Pictures took Kusama – Infinity, and Spc acquired Puzzle.
Meanwhile Annapurna was understood to be closing worldwide rights on Boots Riley’s sci-fi satire Sorry To Bother You following that film’s premiere in U.S. Dramatic Competition over the weekend.
Saban will partner with Roadside Attractions on a summer theatrical release for Craig William Macneill’s period drama Lizzie, which stars Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart and is based on Bryce Kass’s screenplay about the unsolved 19th century Borden murders.
Sevigny plays Borden, who lives under her father’s domineering control until she meets and falls for the family maid Bridget Sullivan (Stewart) and was subsequently put on trial for the murder of her father and step-mother. Lizzie premiered last Friday in U.S. Dramatic Competition...
- 1/25/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
NonStop Entertainment hits the Afm with a slew of high-profile acquisitions.
The revamped Scandinavian distributor has taken on Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar, Kate Winslet starring The Dressmaker and Laurie Anderson’s feature directorial debut Heart Of A Dog, to name just a few (full list of titles below).
Jakob Abrahamsson, CEO of NonStop, said: “Newly reborn as an independent distributor, NonStop Entertainment solidifies its profile as the leading Scandinavian distributor for great films for an upmarket audience with this latest slew of extraordinary acquisitions, ranging from Kate Winslet’s tour de force The Dressmaker, via smart post-apocalyptic thriller She Who Brings Gifts to Laurie Anderson’s outstanding and mesmerizing doc Heart Of Dog, that puts us exactly where we want to be for the upcoming 2016 season.”
The acquisitions are:
Australian comedy/drama The Dressmaker directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving. Acquired from Embankment...
The revamped Scandinavian distributor has taken on Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar, Kate Winslet starring The Dressmaker and Laurie Anderson’s feature directorial debut Heart Of A Dog, to name just a few (full list of titles below).
Jakob Abrahamsson, CEO of NonStop, said: “Newly reborn as an independent distributor, NonStop Entertainment solidifies its profile as the leading Scandinavian distributor for great films for an upmarket audience with this latest slew of extraordinary acquisitions, ranging from Kate Winslet’s tour de force The Dressmaker, via smart post-apocalyptic thriller She Who Brings Gifts to Laurie Anderson’s outstanding and mesmerizing doc Heart Of Dog, that puts us exactly where we want to be for the upcoming 2016 season.”
The acquisitions are:
Australian comedy/drama The Dressmaker directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving. Acquired from Embankment...
- 11/5/2015
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Documentary specialist Submarine Entertainment is aboard to co-produce and co-finance feature doc Kusama: A Life In Polka Dots about the titular Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The company will partner with Dogwoof on international sales. Heather Lenz is writing, directing and producing the story of Kusama’s turbulent quest to become a world famous artist. In the 1960s, she rivaled Warhol for press attention but hallucinations of polka dots and struggles against sexism and racism eventually led her to the Tokyo mental institution she has called home for over 30 years. After decades of working in obscurity she eventually became the first woman to represent Japan in the Venice Biennale in 1993. In 2008, her work broke an auction record at Christie’s for a living female artist, and in 2012, her Louis Vuitton clothing line launched. At Kusuma’s most recent show in Mexico City, it’s estimated 2.5M people attended and the museum...
- 2/11/2015
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
Submarine has boarded the documentary Yayoi Kusama: A Life In Polka Dots.
The company will co-finance and partner with Dogwoof on international sales.
Heather Lenz will write, direct and produce the film about Kusama’s turbulent mission to become a world-renowned artist.
Karen Johnson also produces alongside Submarine’s David Koh and Dan Braun, while Stanley Buchthal, Submarine’s Josh Braun, Simone Haggiag and Alice Koh serve as executive producers.
Koh, Dan Braun and Buchthal negotiated the deal on with Chris L Perez of Donaldson + Callif on behalf of the film-makers and Anna Godas of Dogwoof Films.
The producers anticipate the film will be finished by the fourth quarter of this year.
The company will co-finance and partner with Dogwoof on international sales.
Heather Lenz will write, direct and produce the film about Kusama’s turbulent mission to become a world-renowned artist.
Karen Johnson also produces alongside Submarine’s David Koh and Dan Braun, while Stanley Buchthal, Submarine’s Josh Braun, Simone Haggiag and Alice Koh serve as executive producers.
Koh, Dan Braun and Buchthal negotiated the deal on with Chris L Perez of Donaldson + Callif on behalf of the film-makers and Anna Godas of Dogwoof Films.
The producers anticipate the film will be finished by the fourth quarter of this year.
- 2/10/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.