Independent goes to Hell And Back Again

UK finance/sales/production company Independent has launched a distribution division and has picked up a number of documentaries for the UK, including Danfung Dennis’ Afghanistan war expose Hell And Back Again and Aaron Aites’ Norwegian black metal doc Until The Light Takes Us.

The London-based company has also acquired mumblecore comedy Tiny Furniture from Indomina.

Hell And Back Again picked up the World Cinema Jury Prize Documentary at this year’s Sundance festival and was an official selection at HotDocs and the upcoming Sheffield Film Festival.

Rights for both documentaries were secured from the films’ producers.

Eric Stevens, Head of Independent Distribution, said of Hell And Back Again: “This is a really important film, which we’re very excited to have acquired. I haven’t seen a documentary like this before and it is sure to resonate. It has already won prestigious awards and will no doubt go on to win more.”

The company also took UK digital rights to US doc Audience Of One and comedy The Great World Of Sound from Elephant Eye.

Independent is the distribution wing of Luc Roeg’s UK sales and production outfit Independent, responsible for competition entry We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Launched last year, the distribution element, headed by Stevens, will acquire 6-8 films per year. “We are looking to pick up niche product from festivals and markets that requires a little more effort from the audience - we like social awareness films, American indie product and the missed gems! We do a lot of music titles and will also be launching a lot of innovative marketing campaigns, especially for our digital offering,” commented Stevens.

Independent’s Third Star is released in the UK next weekend.