Goldcrest Films International has sold a number of new territories for Justin Chadwick’s The First Grader, including a UK deal with Soda Pictures.

The First Grader won the audience award (with $100,000 cash prize) at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.

After its Telluride and Toronto screenings, National Geographic Entertainment took on US rights from Distant Horizon.

The film has also now been sold to Australia/New Zealand (Rialto), Japan (Klockworx), Canada (Maple Pictures), Latin America (Leda Films), China (Darklight Media), Hong Kong (Edko), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador (Star Films), Singapore (Shaw Brothers), Portugal (Lusomundo), and Benelux (A Film).

The film tells the true story of an elderly former Mau Mau rebel (Oliver Litondo) who wants to be educated in a bush primary school, where he meets a supportive teacher (Naomie Harris).

The First Grader is a BBC Films and UK Film Council presentation in association with Videovision Entertainment, Lip Sync and ARTE France, a Sixth Sense/Origin Pictures Production. Producers are Richard Harding, Sam Feuer and David M Thompson.

Goldcrest’s slate at the forthcoming EFM will also include Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse starring Selma Blair, Mia Farrow, Justin Bartha and Christopher Walken (first footage will be available); as well as Gavin Wiesen’s Sundance film Homework starring Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts.

Soda’s other recent acquisitions include Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff and Tran Anh Hung’s Norwegian Wood.

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