IFC Films, the fast-growing theatrical distribution arm of US cable channel The Independent Film Channel (IFC), has acquired all North American rights to Kristian Levring's The King Is Alive from Newmarket Capital Group and Good Machine International.

Premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, the film is the fourth official film from Denmark's Dogme movement after The Idiots, The Celebration and Mifune. Levring founded the movement with the respective directors of those films Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg and Sorn Kragh-Jacobson. The film also played in the Telluride, Toronto and Tokyo film festivals.

The film was shot on digital video in Namibia and tells the story of a busload of tourists stranded in the desert. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Janet McTeer, Bruce Davison and Romane Bohringer among others.

IFC Entertainment President Jonathan Sehring and IFC Films' senior vice president of marketing and distribution Bob Berney negotiated the deal with Good Machine's David Linde and Glen Basner. Good Machine sold all international rights to the film outside Scandinavia where Trust Films handled sales.

IFC Films has already announced that it will distribute IFC Productions' Spring Forward and acquired Lukas Moodysson's Together.