Australia’s Rialto Distribution is in Cannes with a multi-million-dollar funding line and has hired UK-based Giles Edwards as head of acquisitions to secure a slate of upcoming titles.
Rialto CEO Kelly Rogers said the “substantial investment” from private equity sources would allow the distributor to acquire up to eight strong titles at the market. He cited quality arthouse titles such as The Taste Of Things, crossover horror Immaculate and action features with star casts as the type of films they were hunting.
As head of acquisitions, production and development, Edwards will work alongside Rogers to “spearhead a bold new era of innovation and growth” for the ANZ distributor.
Industry veteran Edwards was previously head of acquisitions and development, Europe for MPI Media Group and Dark Sky Films in the US. He was also head of acquisition at Metrodome Distribution until 2016, where he acquired high-profile titles such as Mommy, Personal Shopper and What We Do In The Shadows.
After Cannes, Edwards is scheduled to attend all the major markets including Venice and the inaugural Toronto market.
The move builds on ongoing momentum at Rialto, which launched Galaxy Pictures - a distributor dedicated to the ANZ market - with the UK’s Vertigo Releasing in late 2023. Upcoming titles under the Galaxy Pictures banner include The Exorcism and Sleeping Dogs, both starring Russell Crowe.
The company will also continue to leverage its strategic relationship with Kismet, with whom they jointly acquire select films.
Rialto has generated close to $11m at the local box office over the last two years with recent hits including horror Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, and The Taste Of Things, a French drama led by Juliette Binoche that played in Competition at Cannes last year.
Its upcoming slate include Frank Grillo’s Werewolves, Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs and Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land, which played in competition at last year’s Venice and stars Mads Mikkelsen.
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