Tehran, Feb 17, IRNA Former Cinema Guild distribution executive Ryan Krivoshey has founded Grasshopper Film, an indie distribution company, and the first title to be released will be Iranian Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadis 2006 production Fireworks Wednesday.
The film was never theatrically released in the United States, but is now looking at a March 16 release date in New York, to be followed by a national rollout, Deadline.com reported.
It helped establish Farhadis credit ahead of his Oscar Foreign Language winner A Separation in 2012. Hamid Farokhnezhad, Hediyeh Tehrani, Taraneh Alidoosti, Pantea Bahram, Sahar Dolatshahi and Hooman Seyedi are among the cast.
The story happens on the last Wednesday before the spring solstice ushers in the Persian New Year (March 20 or 21), when people set off fireworks as an ancient tradition. A young woman, Rouhi, spending her first day at a new job, finds herself in the midst of a different kind of fireworks - a domestic dispute between her new boss and his wife.
Grasshopper will specialize in the release of acclaimed and award-winning independent cinema. The company will operate across all domestic markets with a goal to release eight to 12 titles a year theatrically, and over 50 titles to video on demand (VOD) platforms.
This is a great time for independent film, said Krivoshey. In recent years, an incredible community has developed - from funding to festival to art-house - that fosters and supports audacious filmmaking in all forms, whether narrative or documentary or something in between. At Grasshopper, we look forward to being part of this community-at-large, to champion works we believe in, and expose them to audiences around the country.
Krivoshey has worked in independent film distribution for over 15 years. Prior to launching Grasshopper, he led the Cinema Guild where he acquired films from Cannes, Berlin and other major film festivals.
At Cinema Guild, Krivoshey acquired Farhadis About Elly in 2014 which had a successful release in the US in 2015.