Drafthouse Films has acquired North American rights to recent Cannes premiere The Tribe, winner of three sidebar prizes in Critics’ Week.

Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s story takes place at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf and unfolds purely through sign language.

Paris-based Alpha Violet scored a number of key sales on the Croisette including UFO for France, Mimosa Films for Japan and Ost For Paradis for Denmark.

“When working with a film like The Tribe, we immediately became more sensitive to signs and language: passion speaks first,” said Alpha Violet co-CEOs Virginie Devesa and Keiko Funato.

“We received an amazing response after our first market screening in Cannes and Drafthouse Films showed from the very beginning all the right signs – and the strongest passion – to distribute our film in North America,” noted

The Tribe will screen in select theatres across North America and will be released on a variety of VOD platforms and digital, DVD and Blu-ray formats.

  • Music Box Films has acquired all US and Canadian rights to Fifi Howls From Happiness, Mitra Farahani’s documentary about the Iranian artist Bahman Mohassess.

    Known as Persian Picasso, Mohassess’ paintings and sculptures dominated pre-revolution Iranian art scene and was known to be a favourite of the Shah. When the Islamic Republic established itself many of Mohassess’ works were destroyed but in a puzzling twist the artist himself destroyed many more of his works of art.

    The film premiered at the 2013 Berlinale and will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles in August. Music Box brokered the deal with Urban Distribution International.

  • Mance Media has acquired A Leading Man from Steven J Kung and will release the drama about Asians seeking work in Hollywood on September 12 in theatres, followed by digital and packaged goods. 

  • Open Road Films has announced it will release Little Boy nationwide in the US on February 27, 2015.

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