Bhutan Doc ‘Agent of Happiness’ Boarded by Cinephil Ahead of Sundance Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: WTFilms has snapped up international sales rights for Dutch directorial duo Steffan Haars and Flip Van Der Kuil’s English-language debut Krazy House following its world premiere at Sundance.

“Skywalkers: A Love Story” joins “Free Solo” in a film subgenre that can only be described as “F*ck That.” It’s an ultra-specific genre of documentary that showcases feats that are so incredibly dangerous that you not only shake your head in disbelief but actually get your heart beating harder as you hold your breath, imagining that if you don’t make a noise, then maybe these people won’t die right before your eyes.

Michaela Zee Netflix has acquired “Skywalkers: A Love Story” following the documentary feature’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival. “Skywalkers,” which premiered Jan. 18 at the Ray Theatre, follows daring couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus from Moscow, who saved their relationship and career by climbing one of the world’s tallest buildings.

Sundance Film Festival premiere. It’s an interesting home for the documentary, because Reeve experienced his greatest commercial success playing the Man of Steel in the first four Superman movies, which Warner Bros. produced.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Marcelo Gomes’ new film “Portrait of a Certain Orient” will be represented for world sales by Brazil’s O2 Play. The deal was sealed ahead of the film’s premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it plays as part of the Big Screen Competition.

Angelique Jackson Amazon MGM Studios is in final negotiations to acquire Megan Park’s sophomore feature “My Old Ass,” starring Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella, following its Sundance Film Festival debut. The high-concept film — which was produced by LuckyChap’s Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, with Indian Paintbrush’s Steven Rales — made its world premiere on Saturday night in a sold-out screening at the Eccles Theatre in Park City, UT. The deal is for roughly $15 million.

IFC Films and Sapan Studio announced today that they have acquired the North American rights to Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan’s Ghostlight out of the Sundance premiere section.

EXCLUSIVE: The Ford Foundation is coming through for documentary filmmakers in a big way.  

Christopher Revee’s story is being explored in a new documentary. The film, called “Super/Man: The Christpher Revee Story” recounts Revee’s acting career and the paralysis that affected the rest of his life after a horseback accident on 1995.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Unlike Cannes and Venice, Sundance isn’t a film festival that inspires too many standing ovations. But moviegoers at the Eccles Theatre were moved (more than once!) to stand up and applaud after the premiere of “Will & Harper,” a funny, heartbreaking and poignant documentary about Will Ferrell taking a road trip with his longtime friend, Harper Steele, who transitioned at 61.

An moved and moving River Gallo thanked a full and cheering house for turning out to the premiere of Ponyboi. The intersex actor starred in film, which is both a crime thriller and exploration of gender and identity.

Stephen Rodrick Jesse Eisenberg‘s “A Real Pain” stars Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as mismatched New York Jewish cousins. They’re on a trip to Poland in search of the life that their recently dead grandmother lived before the Holocaust. Benji is a buttoned up neurotic on OCD medicine while David is a charming fuckup with no prospects but a mouth that is equally hilarious and malignantly obnoxious.

“The Greatest Night In Pop” is so entertaining and eminently watchable, and it’s as simple as that. Directed by Bao Nguyen, the acclaimed filmmaker of the Bruce Lee doc “Be Water,” the already-engaging subject matter doesn’t hurt: nearly 50 of the top American music artists in the world all in one room, recording a soon-to-be global hit single.

Siddhant Adlakha By reputation, the Kingdom of Bhutan is the happiest country on Earth, but the “Agent of Happiness” seeks to explore that assertion. The documentary by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó follows the routine of 40-year-old Amber, one of 75 government workers hired to survey people’s happiness on a mathematical scale, and it details not only the lives of his interviewees, but also that of the agent himself.

Marta Balaga Finnish-British director Mikko Mäkelä isn’t shying away from sexual content in “Sebastian,” which has its world premiere on Sunday at Sundance Film Festival. “As was already the case with ‘A Moment in the Reeds,’ I wanted to provide a very frank and honest portrayal of queer sexuality,” he tells Variety, referencing his 2017 debut. “For so long, queer sexuality has been shied away from and censored.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights to horror film “Mom.” Blue Finch will be selling the film at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) in February. “Mom” will have its world premiere at FrightFest Glasgow in March. The film follows a struggling mother who is abandoned by her family and partner after a horrific incident.

Normani and Dominique Thorne are all smiles while stepping out for the premiere of their new movie Freaky Tales held at Eccles Theatre on Thursday (January 18) in Park City, Utah.

Angelique Jackson Award-winning nonfiction filmmaker and writer Brett Story has signed with CAA ahead of the world premiere of her latest documentary, “Union.” Story co-directed the feature with Stephen Maing about the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York City’s Staten Island, as they take on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in a fight to unionize. “Union” will make its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), MCF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent European production powerhouse Mediawan has bought a majority stake in Misfits, the prestige U.K. company whose anticipated documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will play at the Sundance Film Festival.