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Source: Courtesy Joint Venture

‘Andre Is An Idiot’

Joint Venture has acquired North American rights to Andre Is An Idiot, winner of the Audience Award for US Documentary at this year’s Sundance festival. 

The A24 Films, Sandbox Films and Safehouse Pictures production is set to open in US cinemas next March. 

Directed by Tony Benna, the documentary uses verite and stop-motion animation techniques to follow self-proclaimed ‘idiot’ André Ricciardi on his final journey after being diagnosed with a disease he could have detected. 

The project came out of the documentary department at A24, which the company closed down earlier this year. 

Andre Is An Idiot is produced by Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Stelio Kitrilakis, Joshua Altman and Ben Cotner. Nicole Stott, Emily Osborne, Marissa Torres Ericson, Jessica Harrop, Greg Boustead, Joby Harold and Lee Einhorn serve as executive producers. As well as the documentary audience award, the film won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award for US Documentary at Sundance and other awards at the Mill Valley and Hamptons festivals. 

Benna commented: “When André approached me to direct what he called ‘a comedy about his cancer,’ I was taken aback but also deeply honored that he trusted me to tell such an intimate story. Cancer isn’t inherently funny, but André definitely is. His raw, unapologetic honesty and humour in the face of something so heavy make it impossible not to fall in love with him.”

 

 

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