TORONTO — Austin’s Drafthouse Films, the distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain, has inked a deal with Toronto-based FilmsWeLike, which will become the exclusive distributor of Drafthouse titles in Canada, it was announced Friday.
The deal was negotiated by FilmsWeLike president Ron Mann and Drafthouse Films COO James Emanuel Shapiro.
First up is the fall theatrical, VOD and digital release of Mad Brugger’s Sundance alum “The Ambassador,” a docu hybrid unravelling the corrupt activities of a Central African Republic diplomat.
Other titles on the release slate include Quentin Dupieux’s comedy “Wrongs,” which preemed at this year’s Sundance, and Michael R. Roskam’s Oscar-nominated “Bullhead.”
“I am thrilled to present Drafthouse’s hand-picked genre movies in Canada,” said Mann, a long-time SXSW festival regular, whose FilmsWeLike distribution slate also includes Toronto festival pics “Tabu,” “Barbara,” “Berberian Sound Studio,” “Leviathan” and world-preeming Canuck docu “Lunarcy,” which Global Screen is selling internationally.
“Our film tastes and our approach to distribution are totally simpatico — the Drafthouse is truly visionary in how it’s built a curated brand that audiences trust and love,” Mann added.
“We were initially drawn to the name of Mann’s integral operation which is also his mission statement,” said Shapiro. “We share the same mantra at Drafthouse Films by only distributing the films we truly love and believe in. Films We Like is a perfect DNA match for our brand.”
Launched in 2010, Drafthouse Films is also a producing partner with Magnolia Pictures and Timpson Films on Toronto title “The ABCs of Death,” a highly anticipated horror anthology world-preeming in the Midnight Madness program next week.
