Kino Lorber acquired the U.S. and anglophone Canadian distribution rights to “Epicentro,” Hubert Sauper’s documentary about post-colonial Cuba that won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize, the distributor announced Monday.
In “Epicentro,” Sauper explores a century of interventionism and myth-making together with the extraordinary people of Havana — particularly its children, whom he calls “young prophets” — to interrogate time, imperialism and cinema itself.
The film is a metaphorical portrait of post-colonial, “utopian” Cuba, where the 1898 explosion of the USS Maine still resonates. This Big Bang ended Spanish colonial dominance in the Americas and ushered in the era of the American Empire. At the same time and place, a powerful tool of conquest was born: cinema as propaganda.
Kino Lorber will give the documentary a theatrical rollout beginning this fall, followed by a DVD release as well as a streaming release on KinoNow.com.
Sauper previously directed the 2006 Oscar-nominated “Darwin’s Nightmare” and “We Come As Friends.” “Epicentro” was produced by Daniel and Martin Marquet, Paolo Calamita and Gabriele Kranzelbinder, and the executive producers are Dan Cogan and Jenny Raskin of Impact Partners, Michael Donaldson and Vincent Maraval.
The deal for “Epicentro” was negotiated by Kino Lorber president Richard Lorber and SVP Wendy Lidell with head of international sales of Wild Bunch Eva Diederix, as well as CAA Media Finance, at the European Film Market this weekend.
“Hubert Sauper has created a work of pure cinema. As always, his warm rapport with his subjects makes for compelling personal storytelling. ‘Epicentro’ is a history lesson disguised as a crowd pleaser…with Oona Chaplin singing to boot. We look forward to invading America with Sauper’s Cuba,” Lidell said in a statement.