Kino Lorber has taken all US rights to the documentary It’s Hard Being Loved By Jerks, about a legal battle between the French magazine and the Muslim French Council.

The film charts the legal dispute that arose when the Paris-based magazine and target of the January massacre by Islamist terrorists re-printed Danish cartoons first published in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad.

Daniel Laconte directed the film, which includes interviews with Charlie Hebdo cartoonists such as Cabu, Charb, Tignous and Wolinski, who were killed on January 7.

Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber brokered the deal with Pyramide International sales director Lucero Garzon and CEO Éric Lagesse.

  • ARC Entertainment has acquired all North American rights to thriller The Squeeze from Terry Jastrow about a gambler who exploits a gifted small-town man.

Jeremy Sumpter, Christopher McDonald, Katherine LaNasa, Jillian Murray, Michael Nouri and Jason Dohring star.

The Squeeze will open in the US on premium VOD and in select markets on April 17.

  • Fledgling distributor Dark Frames, which launched with the goal of releasing non-Bollywood Indian films to international audiences, will release its first title Unfreedom on May 29.

Company founder Raj Amit Kumar directed the contemporary story about interwoven stories about identity, love, religion, sex and family.

Unfreedom was banned in India where homosexuality was outlawed in 2013. Kumar is mounting an appeal and launching a crowd-funding campaign to finance a release in India via alternative methods.

Mark Urman of Paladin is partnering with Dark Frames to lead marketing and distribution on the slate.

Dark Frames will also partner with Film Buff to distribute Unfreedom at the same time on VOD and other digital platforms.

  • Vimeo has acquired the exclusive first US download-to-own window to Alex Gibney’s Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief. The recent Sundance premiere launches on HBO in early summer and will be available on Vimeo On Demand in September.
  • Imax Corporation and The Walt Disney Studios have struck a deal for the large-screen specialist to release Kenneth Branagh’s live-action Cinderella on global Imax screens on March 13.

Topics