Film Movement has acquired all North American rights to Total Trust, Zhang Jialing’s CPH:DOX, Hot Docs and Sheffield selection about the Chinese surveillance state.
The distributor has set a December 8 theatrical release at New York’s Film Forum followed by home entertainment and digital platforms. Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg and Cinephil MD Olivier Tournaud announced the deal on Friday.
Total Trust follows three women fighting for civil liberties and social justice in a country which uses high tech security and surveillance technology to monitor its citizens through half a billion cameras, extensive neighbourhood watch programmes, monitoring of employee stress levels, and a “social credit” point system that rewards community service and penalises perceived social infractions.
One of the women, Huang Xueqin, was among the first journalists in her country to investigate #MeToo accusations and was subsequently arrested on charges of inciting subversion of state power. After two years in detention she was due to stand trial last month.
Total Trust won best feature at It’s All True International Documentary Film Festival, earned a nomination for the CPH:DOX Award and the Camera Justitia Award at Hague Movies That Matter Festival.
“From One Child Nation to 2022’s best documentary Spirit Award nominee for In the Same Breath, Jialing has proven herself to be an observational documentarian of the highest order,” said Rosenberg.
“A warning of the terrors of unchecked surveillance, this damning overview of China’s multi-pronged assault on privacy will certainly open the eyes of North American audiences in ways that will likely keep them up at night.”
In addition to Total Trust, Film Movement recently acquired the uncut, complete 4K restoration of landmark Chinese epic Farewell My Concubine, thriller Green Night, Berlin Silver Bear winner 20,000 Species Of Bees, Tunisia’s 2023 Oscar submission Under The Fig Trees, and Art Talent Show, the Proxima Grand Prix Award winner at Karlovy Vary last year.
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