'Matter Out Of Place'

Source: Locarno Film Festival

‘Matter Out Of Place’

Austrian director Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s award-winning feature documentary Matter Out of Place, about waste disposal, has been acquired by Frenetic for Switzerland, Against Gravity for Poland, Zero Em Comportamento for Portugal, and You Shiu Enterprises for Taiwan from Autlook Film Sales.

Matter Out Of Place won the Green Leopard at Locarno in August and is now screening in the Masters section at this week’s International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

Austrian outfit Autlook has also sold theatrical rights to Allison Otto’s The Thief Collector to Signature Entertainment for the UK and Ireland. VGTV has picked up TV and VOD rights for Norway while DR came in for Denmark. France and all French speaking territories in Europe are being handled by Canal+. Cinetic is handling sales in North America.

The documentary tells the story of how artist Willem de Kooning’s painting Woman-Ochre, an abstract expressionist work with a value of $100 million, was cut out of its frame and stolen from a museum in Arizona in 1985. It turned up three decades later, hanging in someone’s home in New Mexico.

 Additionally, ICA Filns has come to take all UK rights to Myanmar Diaries, the doc made anonymously by filmmakers in Myanmar following the 2021 military coup, which is also being sold by Autlook. The film, which premiered at the Berlinale in February,  is being put forward for the documentary Oscar race by Sarah Mosses’ Together FIlms. 

It was picked up by Arte last week for a European broadcast in February 2023 - which marks the second anniversary of the military coup.

Streaming platform Filmin has taken all rights for Spain and Portugal and Falcon for Indonesia, Hollywood Co will release the film in Thailand theatrically. Now TV bought the film for Hong Kong & Macau. 

Autlook has also closed broadcast deals on Anna Shishova- Bogoliubova’s The New Greatness Case, a Dutch premiere in IDFA’s Best Of Fests. The film tells the story of how Russian teenager Anya has her life turned upside down when she is arrested and accused of trying to overthrow the government. The film has gone to  ZDF Arte for Germany and France and Al Jazeera Docs for MENA. It was also recently picked up by PTS Taiwan, RTS and SRF in Switzerland, Estonia ETV The New Greatness Case won IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut at last year’s festival.