h264 boards Hot Docs entry ‘Spare My Bones, Coyote!’

EXCLUSIVE: Montreal-based h264 has acquired worldwide sales and Canadian distribution rights to Jonah Malak’s documentary and upcoming Hot Docs world premiere Spare My Bones, Coyote!

The film follows volunteers of Águilas del Desierto and founders Marisela and Ely Ortiz, who have dedicated their lives to finding and returning the bodies of migrants who died in the desert while crossing from Mexico to the US on foot. Nemesis Films CEO Dominique Dussault served as producer.

Aguilas del Desierto was established in 2012 and to date has rescued around 92 people and recovered the remains of 92 people.

Spare My Bones, Coyote! will premiere in the Toronto festival on April 27 and screen again two days later, before it plays in DOXA in Vancouver.

Malak said, “It is an irrefutable truth that mass displacement will increase over the years, and with it, exile, distress, and social conflict. With the new American administration, Spare My Bones, Coyote! is not only timely in subject matter but also in form. Its raison d’être is the emergency, and its vocation is to communicate a forgotten truth and offer a counter discourse to the prevailing media polarisation.”

h264 co-presidents Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne and Stephanie Demers worked with Malak on 2020 sports documentary Dave Not Coming Back and partnered with Nemesis Films on 2023 Karlovy Vary selection Red Rooms. They said, “In today’s troubling geopolitical climate, it feels particularly crucial to highlight a film that boldly addresses migration issues. It’s an honour to bring such a timely, and important film to audiences.”

Dussault said, ”After our successful collaboration with h264 on the international sales of Red Rooms, Nemesis Films is delighted to further our strong relationship with the Montreal-based sales agency.”

Hot Docs runs April 24-May 4.

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