In today’s film news roundup, “Three Christs” finds a home, Participant chief David Linde will be honored and “Let It Snow” is set for sale at AFM.
ACQUISITION
IFC Films is acquiring U.S. rights to “Three Christs,” starring Peter Dinklage, Richard Gere, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford.
The film is directed by Jon Avnet and co-written by Avnet and Eric Nazarian, based on Milton Rokeach’s book, “The Three Christs of Ypsilanti.” The film was produced by Daniel Levin, Molly Hassel, Avnet and Dr. Aaron Stern. IFC Films will be releasing the film theatrically in January.
The story is based on a 1959 experiment at Michigan’s Ypsilanti State Hospital, with Gere portraying a doctor whose paranoid schizophrenic patient (Dinklage) believes he is Jesus Christ. Unwilling to use electroshock therapy, he begins a risky, unprecedented experiment by transferring his patient to live together with two other paranoid schizophrenics (portrayed by Whitford and Goggins) who also believe they are Jesus.
LINDE HONORED
FilmAid International will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a benefit event in New York City at the Standard on Nov. 6, honoring Participant CEO David Linde.
He will receive the Richard C. Holbrooke Memorial Award for Dedication to Humanitarian Service. The event also launches a new phase of FilmAid as a project of Internews, which is a non-profit dedicated to empowering local media and expanding freedom of expression around the world.
“As CEO of Participant, David uses the power of film to raise awareness and fuel social change around the most critical issues of our time,” says FilmAid founder Caroline Baron. “We recognize his commitment to using film to build stronger, more inclusive communities that welcome and amplify the voices of every member. His work captures the power of film to drive social change and spark global awareness and action.”
AFM LAUNCHES
Arclight Films has boarded the thriller “Let It Snow,” starring Ivanna Sakhno, Alex Hafner and Tinatin Dalakishvili.
Stanislav Kapralov makes his feature film directorial debut from a script he wrote with Omri Rose. Arclight Films will handle worldwide rights to the feature and will introduce the project to buyers at the American Film Market, which opens Nov. 6 in Santa Monica, Calif.
The story follows a free-riding snowboarder separated from her fiancé after sneaking onto a restricted slope. She must not only survive against nature, but also a masked snowmobile rider in black who’s out for her blood.
The film is produced by Solar Media’s Serge Lavrenyuk. Executive producers are Yan Fisher and Roger Corbi of FishCorb Film.