Sundance: Magnolia Picks Up Blackfish, Dealmaking Continues

By Liza Foreman

Magnolia Pictures has picked up North American right to Blackfish at Sundance.

The film follows the notorious killer whale Tilikum, who was responsible for three human deaths. Through these incidents, Blackfish examines the consequences of keeping intelligent mammals in captivity.

Blackfish  premiered as part of Sundance's U.S. Documentary Competition category.

Within days of the Sundance Film Festival  beginning this year, a flurry of deals on festival films made the headlines.

StudioCanal sold North American rights to British director Michael Winterbottom’s film “Look of Love” to IFC in one of the big early deals of the festival.

The London-set film stars Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, and Tamsin Egerton, tells the true-life story of Paul Raymond, the man behind Soho’s Raymond Revue Bar and “Men Only” magazine. Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain.

"We are thrilled to bring Michael's phenomenal film to his loyal supporters at IFC Films,” said Harold van Lier, EVP International Distribution at StudioCanal.

Sony Pictures Worldwide took domestic rights to the U.S.- British feature “Austenland” for a reported $4 million shortly thereafter. The film is inspired by the British writer Jane Austen.

HBO acquired TV rights for the U.S. to the documentary “Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer,” which revolves around Pussy Riot, the radical-feminist punk rock group whose members were imprisoned after a satirical performance in Moscow.

British filmmaker Mike Lerner and Russian Maxin Pozdorovkin collaborated on the documentary, which chronicles the group's plight and turned into a human rights drama.

“Who Is Dayani Cristal?” the British documentary which served as Sundance’s opening screening was acquired by the international distribution start-up Mundial.

Gael Garcia Bernal stars in the film about a decomposing Latino body found in the Arizona desert.

Mundial is a new joint venture from IM Global run by Britain’s Stuart Ford and Canana.

“Who Is Dayani Cristal?” was the sixth documentary to be picked up at the festival. Other docu sales include “The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear” which sold to Icarus Films. Produced by Georgia and Germany, “The Machine” follows a film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist who visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call.

Other documentary sales included “Twenty Feet From Stardom” (Radius), “Dirty Wars” (Sundance Selects), “The Summit” (Sundance Selects) and “History of the Eagles” (Showtime).

Sundance deals on U.S. films through Tuesday included The Weinstein Co.'s Radius division acquisition of “Concussion,” the film debut from writer/director Stacie Passon about a frustrated lesbian mother. The company also picked up the U.S. dramatic competition film “Fruitvale.”

Relativity acquired Joseph Gordon Levitt’s “Don Jon’s Addiction.” The film follows a selfish modern-day Don Juan who wants to change his routine. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.