The new distributor will focus “standout new releases and restored classics” and has already set restorations for three Éric Rohmer films.
New York City’s fledgling independent cinema The Metrograph — which opened in March of 2016, the first indie arthouse to open in the city in over a decade — is getting into the distribution business. Metrograph Pictures will launch on February 22, and will focus on “standout new releases and restored classics.” The new distributor will be led by Head of Distribution George Schmalz, an industry veteran who most recently served as curator for AMC’s Sundance Now. Schmalz will work closely with Jake Perlin, Artistic Director and Director of Programming of Metrograph, on all acquisitions.
Its first planned title is Claire Simon’s “The Competition” (Le Concours), billed as “a sensational documentary portrait of the admission process at French film school La Fémis,” which previously screened at the Venice, Vienna, BFI-London film festivals. In keeping with the new distributor’s mission, the theatrical release will mark the U.S. theatrical debut of veteran filmmaker Simon. The film will open at the Metrograph, and then expand nationally in the following weeks.
