GLASS EYE PIX’S AMERICAN JESUS
COMES HOME TO U.S. THEATRICAL, DVD AND VOD AUDIENCES THIS SPRING
TDC ENTERTAINMENT AND GRAVITAS VENTURES ACQUIRE
NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO THE GROUND-BREAKING DOCUMENTARY.
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“…required viewing for everyone.” –Red Letter Christians
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Fascinating and informative…one of the best, if not, the best documentary on Christianity in the United States today, lift your arms and say “Hallelujah” for AMERICAN JESUS.
–Debbie Lynn Elias, Movie Shark
New York, NY – November 27, 2013 – Glass Eye Pix is pleased to announce that TDC Entertainment (under its Shelter Island banner) has acquired DVD and Non-theatrical North American rights to American Jesus and Gravitas Ventures will handle all VOD and broadcast rights for the film for a May 13, 2014 day and date release. Director Aram Garriga’s ambitious portrait of Christianity in American Culture had its world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival, when Huffington Post dubbed Garriga as “the new Alexis de Tocqueville,” followed by its international premiere at the Sitges Film Festival, where Twitch’s Todd Brown called it “An amazing film… one of the best and most interesting documentaries on religion.” The film is a co-production with Glass Eye Pix and Spain-based Zabriskie Films, Visualsuspects, TVE & TV3.
Glass Eye Pix plans a select 15 maket theatrical release in March and April 2014, followed by the May 13, 2014 day and date release on DVD, VOD and iTunes.
American Jesus is an exploration of Christianity in every faction of American life, from the bread line to the yoga studio, from the humble churches of snake handlers to the mega churches of the ex-urbs. Christian cowboys, bikers and musicians, comedians, surfers and cage-fighters, they are all doing it for Christ. Aram Garriga travels from his native Barcelona to the politically divided United States to chronicle the sometimes bizarre relationship between faith, materialism, politics and personal passions in this uniquely American tableaux.
Populated by an array of religious and secular characters offering candid, often illuminating testimonials, American Jesus is a vivid mosaic of personalities and conflicting points of view that emerges as a portrait of an America yearning for solace and meaning in the modern world.
Gary Baddeley, CEO of TDC Ent. says: “American Jesus highlights the uniquely diverse set of relationships that Americans have with religion. What I loved in the movie is that it achieves an editorial balance such that both secular and religious audiences will find something to love and something to hate. It’s going to become a classic”
“American Jesus is a unique and deeply affecting exploration of worship and faith in today’s culture. The film introduces us to a wide variety of ways that people choose to express their religion, while still emphasizing the profound impact of having belief. It is a film that explores humanity in the context of religion, and we are excited to help the film reach the widest audience possible,” says Mia Bruno, Acquisitions Manager at Gravitas Ventures.
Glass Eye Pix CEO and American Jesus co-producer Larry Fessenden offers: “It is immensely gratifying to settle on a release plan for the film, after working so hard with our Spanish team and my fellow Glass Eye producer Brent Kunkle for almost two years on this ambitious project. In today’s political and cultural landscape, the movie couldn’t be more relevant. I look forward to a rousing discussion coming out of the release.”
“I hope this movie will provide a space for dialogue and understanding, from many different angles, of one of the more complex and influential realities of American society: Christian faith,” adds Director Aram Garriga. “My wish is that both Christian and secular viewers can connect to the characters and their human stories, that questions are triggered and debate takes place, resulting in an enriching experience for every spectator, regardless of their own personal involvement in the Christian beliefs.”
About Glass Eye Pix:
Glass Eye Pix (“one of the indie scene’s most productive and longest-running companies” –Filmmaker Magazine) is the fierce independent NYC-based production outfit headed by art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden. Fessenden has operated the company since 1985, with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts. Glass Eye’s diverse titles include The Last Winter, Birth of the Living Dead, Stake Land, The Comedy, The Innkeepers and Wendy and Lucy.
About Shelter Island:
Shelter Island is known for distributing high quality, critically-acclaimed independent films in the home entertainment market. Shelter Island’s recent releases include the Emmy® award-winning Journey of the Universe, critically acclaimed adventure film Into the Cold and the forthcoming festival favorite The Contradictions of Fair Hope. Shelter Island is the sister label of home entertainment companies True Mind and Disinformation, all operating under TDC Entertainment and distributed by Entertainment One throughout North America.
About Gravitas:
Gravitas Ventures is a leading distributor of independent films and documentaries to the theatrical and Video-on-Demand (VOD) marketplace. Having worked on some of the foremost independent films in the past few years, including Morgan Spurlock’s Comic Con and Dave Grohl’s Sound City, Gravitas works to bring cutting edge cinema into hundreds of millions of homes. In recent years Gravitas has expanded its operation to include theatrical releasing and Gravitas International, a new division that will focus on worldwide audiences. For more information, please go to http://www.gravitasventures.com and @GravitasVOD.
