Fortissimo Films Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In this week's edition of Indie Roundup, we begin by noting the sad and untimely passing of one of the great champions of independent film, Wouter Barendrecht. The founder of Fortissimo Films, an international sales and production company, Barendrecht died unexpectedly last weekend from heart failure while in Thailand.

Eugene Hernandez at indieWIRE writes: "Perhaps his greatest professional achievement is the invaluable role he played as a tireless champion of Asian cinema and as a stalwart supporter of independent, queer and international film. On a personal note, his friendships with so many members of the worldwide film community are also hard to overlook." He was just 43.

Deals. Overture Films has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Nicholas Jasenovec's Paper Heart, which debuted at Sundance. In his review, Eric D. Snider said the film, which stars and was co-written by Charlyne Yi, "combines elements of reality and fiction in an amusing, meta-referential way, though one's enjoyment of it may ultimately come down to one's enjoyment of Yi as a performer." Yi's real-life boyfriend, Michael Cera, is featured. Overture plans to release Paper Heart in New York and Los Angeles on August 7 and expand it a week later, according to indieWIRE.

Box Office. Kate Churchill's documentary Enlighten Up!, advertised as "a skeptic's journey into the world of yoga," exercised its right to be the highest per-screen earner among indies, grossing $16,161 at the one theater where it played, per Box Office Mojo. (Check out the trailer, embedded below.) Fashion doc Valentino: The Last Emperor continued to draw good crowds, earning $14,196 per screen at four locations, while Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel helped Matt Aselton's Gigantic become the top performer among new releases, reaping $10,294 for a film that's received mixed reviews.

After the jump: Film festivals around the country.

I went to a meeting tonight and returned home to discover that the industry wheeling and dealing at Sundance had produced a number of distribution deals. An LA Times article refers to the latest round of deals as "a spending spree reminiscent of drunken sailors on shore leave." I can't top that description. Here's the scoop, as well as some updates on previous deals in progress:

• Fortissimo Films has bought the worldwide (except China) distribution rights to Nanking for an as-yet undisclosed price. Nanking is about the Japanese invasion during WWII of Nanking, China. At first, I thought Nanking was a feature because well-known actors are listed on the film's IMDb page, and some controversy has occurred about writing credits, but apparently it's a documentary that contains a filmed stage reading of pertinent letters and documents. Look for a review of Nanking by Kim Voynar later this week.
  
• Paramount Vantage picked up near-worldwide distribution rights to How She Move (pictured at right), a Canadian feature about urban step dancing. Is this the same as stepping, which was featured in Stomp the Yard? If so (or if buyers are similarly confused), Stomp the Yard's box office success might explain the estimated $3-4 million sale for this film. The plot of How She Move also sounds Save the Last Dance-ish.