As SXSW got under way Friday, a quartet of docs found homes. As reported in indieWIRE, Lorber HT Digital acquired Emma Franz' Intangible Asset #82, screening as part of SXSW's 24 Beats Per Second strand, and Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal's Nollywood Babylon, which premiered at the Festival du nouveau cinema de Montreal and earned kudos at Sundance. Intangible Asset #82, the directorial debut of Australian jazz vocalist Franz, tells the story of respected jazz drummer Simon Barker and his search for an elusive South Korean shaman and grandmaster musician. Nollywood Babylon , produced by the National Film Board of Canada, documents the dramatic rise of the burgeoning Nigerian film industry. Both films will be released theatrically this spring, followed by a DVD release on Lorber's Alive Mind label.
Also reported in indieWIRE, another National Film Board of Canada production, along with EyeSteel Film, Brett Gaylor's RiP: A Remix Manifesto , was snatched up by Austin-based B-Side Entertainment on the eve of the film's US premiere at SXSW. The film, a fast-paced look at Fair Use, open-source cinema, Creative Commons licensing and intellectual property in the digital era, took the Audience Award at IDFA. B-Side will be handling US theatrical distribution in its inaugural release under former Tribeca Film Festival executive director Paola Frecerro.
Finally, Oscilloscope Laboratories, picked up the North American theatrical and DVD rights to Unmistaken Child, in which Israeli filmmaker Nati Baratz' chronicles a former Buddhist disciple's four-year search for his reincarnated Tibetan master. The film premieres June 3 at New York's Film Forum, followed by a DVD release in the fall.
Above photo: From Ben Adelman and Samir Mallal's Nollywood Babylon. Photo: Don Lobel. (c) 2008 National Film Board of Canada.