Press release from TM Publicity
Curious Distribution will launch its Australian theatrical distribution slate with Sundance Jury Prize winner Winter’s Bone.
The film, which also won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance and two major awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, will have its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival this week with screenings on Thursday June 10 and Saturday June 12, ahead of an Australian release date in the spring.
Directed by Debra Granik and based on the acclaimed novel by ‘southern gothic noir’ novelist Daniel Woodrell, Winter’s Bone features a remarkable performance by Jennifer Lawrence in the leading role of a 16 year-old girl searching for her ice-dealing father in the Ozark mountain community of white-trash America.
Winter’s Bone is the third film acquisition for Curious Distribution, across Australia and New Zealand.
“We set up Curious Distribution to distribute films we feel passionate about and reflect our own feature ambitions. The public’s appetite for powerful and engaging stories is undiminished but old distribution models and established distributors operating on high overheads mean a class of quality films are no longer getting released theatrically,” says Michael Wrenn, producer at Curious Distribution.
“There’s a new disposability to the creation and consumption of film content. But this shouldn’t diminish the viewing experience – people just appreciate watching what they want, how and when they want it; we intend to explore the new ways of delivering quality content in the Australasian market place ” says Wrenn, explaining Curious Distribution’s launch in late 2009.
Curious Distribution is also screening Wah Do Dem at the New Zealand Film Festival in July. Set in Jamaica, it’s about a New York slacker who gets ripped off on an over-60s cruise and finds himself walking barefoot across the island of Jamaica to Trenchtown, encountering reggae greats along the way.
In February, Curious Distribution launched its first release, Shifty, at New Zealand cinemas by hosting a series of director’s workshops. Nominated at the BAFTAs, Shifty stars Riz Ahmed as a London crack dealer having a very bad weekend. It was shot in 18 days with a budget of £100,000 pounds, and will be released on DVD in July in NZ and in September in Australia.