Cinedigm has acquired the North American distribution rights to Israeli filmmaker Shaul Schwarz's "Narco Cultura," the company announced Wednesday.

The documentary premiered at Sundance and is headed next to the Berlin International Film Festival. Cinedigm said it plans a theatrical release for later this year.

Jumping from Los Angeles to Cuidad Juarez in Mexico, the film follows drug traffickers and their place of prominence in pop culture, particularly among Latinos who see the outlaws as role models to gain wealth and fame.

"Through its unprecedented access and shocking imagery, 'Narco Cultura' reveals the complex interplay between the tyranny wrought by the drug cartels, as well as their prominent role in defining the culture at large," Vincent Scordino, vice president of acquisitions and theatrical at Cinedigm, said in a statement.

"Narco Cultura" is Schwarz's debut. He has long worked as a photojournalist, his tagline appearing in such publications as National Geographic, the New York Times, Newsweek, El Pais Magazine and GQ.

Emily Rothschild, director of acquisitions for Cinedigm, negotiated the film deal with CAA.