Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. rights to writer-director Ajitpal Singh’s debut feature, “Fire in the Mountains,” which premiered in the World Dramatic Competition of the Sundance Film Festival in 2021.
A powerful feminist tale set in a tourist homestay in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, the film centers around a woman (Vinamrata Rai), the sole breadwinner of the household, who scrimps and saves for her son’s medical treatment, while her alcoholic husband believes that an expensive shamanic ritual is the answer to all their woes.
The film is produced by Alan McAlex and Ajai Rai of prolific Indian arthouse producers Jar Pictures alongside Mauli Singh and Amit Mehta. Jar previously produced Busan title “Children of the Sun” and Toronto title “The Elder One.”
Kino Lorber will open the film at Film Forum in New York this spring, followed by a theatrical rollout in the U.S. and Canada and subsequently on all major digital platforms and home video.
The deal for “Fire in the Mountains” was negotiated by Kino Lorber senior VP Wendy Lidell and by Shrihari Sathe of Dialectic, the film’s sales representative. The deal was announced at the European Film Market at Berlin.
“It is hard to believe that this is a first feature,” Lidell said. “Singh’s acute eye for composition and sensitivity to nuanced emotion are rare qualities in any filmmaker. We feel privileged to introduce this promising talent to North American audiences.”
Singh said: “It feels so good to know that ‘Fire in the Mountains’ will be rubbing shoulders with Kino Lorber’s exceptional slate. The film has travelled to more than 30 festivals and won 13 awards since its Sundance premiere, yet I have never seen it on a big screen with an audience. I hope to finally do so with the theatrical release of the film.”
Sathe added: “I’m excited that Ajitpal’s powerful film has found a distribution home with Kino Lorber for North America. I’ve enjoyed working with Richard Lorber, Wendy and the team at Kino Lorber over the years and look forward to ‘Fire in the Mountains’’ introduction to North American audiences.”
Singh had previously directed several shorts, including the Oberhausen festival-winning “Rammat-Gammat” (2018). His most recent work is crime thriller family saga “Tabbar” for streamer SonyLIV.