Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s AMBI Group is forging its way into specialty distribution. AMBI has a library of more than 400 titles from Exclusive Media Group to draw on, and are planning six releases in their first year, but AMBI is choosing to kick off AMBI Classics with Niki Caro’s family drama “Whale Rider.”
ScreenDaily writes that “the plan is for AMBI to fund distribution in 10–20 US markets on each film, with the potential for broader expansion if warranted.”
Iervolino and Bacardi have stated that they plan to support each release in a similar fashion to a new platform release: expect marketing, advertising, and publicity. “Whale Rider” will be released in November in two formats: restored digital and 35mm. This launch will introduce the inspiring 2002 film to a new generation.
“Whale Rider” grossed more than $41 million on a budget of $3.5 million. Set in Whangara, New Zealand, the award-winning film tells the story of Kahu Paikea Apirana (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a 12-year-old Maori girl who dreams of becoming the chief of her people — a title her grandfather believes should be held by a man. Castle-Hughes was nominated for an Oscar for her role, making her the youngest-ever Best Actress nominee at the time. She was 13 years old. (In 2013, nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis received a nomination for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”)
“Classics for us is a broad term,” said Iervolino. “From AMBI, you will see older, critically acclaimed classics, cult-classics, modern classics, and generally popular films that struck a nerve with audiences and deserve to be seen again on the big screen.”
She continued, “While the number of platforms and screens on which movies can be seen continues to increase, the cinema experience is still a special societal event that can galvanize audiences who simply want to re-create an experience with a film, re-connect to a film, filmmaker or star, or see something for the first time in the theater.”
Bacardi added, “Our goal remains to build AMBI into a well-rounded, multi-faceted entertainment studio and the AMBI Classics division plays into this plan perfectly. Being in the U.S. theatrical distribution business allows for a direct connection to filmgoers and we plan on delivering an exciting slate of films to audiences, starting later this year.”
Caro’s other directing credits include the 2005 Charlize Theron sexual harassment drama “North County” and last year’s Kevin Costner sports drama “McFarland, USA.” Her next feature, “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” is currently in post-production. The film tells the story of the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski. The married couple saved hundreds of people and animals during the Nazi invasion. Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain stars.
Chastain penned an essay for The Hollywood Reporter detailing her experience on the set. In it, she gushed that she’s “never been on a set with so many women… way more than [she’s] ever worked with on a film before.” “The Zookeeper’s Wife” is not only helmed by a woman, but produced and written by women. Angela Workman (“War Bride”) penned the script. “Usually on a movie it would be me and maybe two or three other women, even though there are 100 people there,” Chastain contextualized. (She estimated that the set of “The Zookeeper’s Wife” is still only about 20 percent female — but that’s dramatically more women than she’s used to having around on set.) The “Zero Dark Thirty” actress wrote that having both sexes represented helps foster community on set, with everyone “participating in the exchange of ideas.” “You don’t feel a hierarchy,” she said. “You don’t have anyone feeling like they are being left out or bullied or humiliated. Sometimes being the only girl on set, you can feel like a sexual object.”
“The Zookeeper’s Wife” is slated for release March 31, 2017, and we’re very much looking forward to seeing it. Caro has also signed on to write and direct “Callas,” a biopic about influential Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas. Noomi Rapace (“Prometheus”) will play the soprano. “Callas” is in pre-production.
