Neon has acquired North American distribution rights to the latest by powerhouse documentarian Laura Poitras.
The company will release All the Beauty and the Bloodshed in theaters in North America this fall, with an ancillary and digital release after. The film centers on photographer and activist Nan Goldin, whose work has shed light on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and recently challenged the Sackler family, who founded and owned the Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma. Poitras’ film contains “rare footage” of Goldin’s activism against the Sackler family, as well as footage from Goldin’s slideshows and photography and interviews, Neon announced on Thursday.
The company did not specify a theatrical release date, but said it would overlap with the Moderna Museet’s retrospective of Goldin’s work, “This Will Not End Well,” which opens on Oct. 29 at the Stockholm, Sweden museum.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, produced by Participant and Poitras’ Praxis Films, is set to world premiere, and compete for the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the latest edition of the Venice Film Festival in early September. The film is also set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival this fall.
In a statement Poitras, who directed the 2014 Edward Snowden doc Citizenfour and was a founding editor of The Intercept, said, “Nan’s art and vision has inspired my work for years, and has influenced generations of filmmakers. When we began working together, it was essential to us that the film see a theatrical release. There are no better partners than NEON and Participant and I am honored to collaborate with them on this film.”
Goldin herself is a producer on the film, while other producers include Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons and Yoni Golijov. Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann executive produce, as well as Clare Carter, Alex Kwartler and Hayley Theisen.
Liesl Copland and Adam Macy negotiated the deal for Participant, while Jason Wald represented Neon. Copland and Participant’s Rob Williams alongside Josh Bruan of Submarine worked on the film’s domestic sales.
