Two more women-directed Sundance pics have found homes. Liza Mandelup’s “Jawline” and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s “Honeyland” have nabbed distribution. The former, a portrait of a streaming star leveraging his fame to escape his hometown, is heading to Hulu, and the latter, following a beekeeper and her rustic lifestyle, has been acquired by NEON. Both are documentaries.
Hulu obtained U.S. rights to “Jawline,” per Deadline. Its protagonist is 16-year-old Austyn Tester, an online-streaming sensation with a legion of young female fans. “For Austyn and many like him, a big enough fan base could mean a ticket out of rural America and into a new life of wealth and fame — quite the undertaking when you’re coming of age,” the doc synopsis details. “Austyn may be separated from his fans, but the emotions his viewers feel are just as real as anything we feel ‘IRL.’ ‘Jawline’ covers Austyn as he is discovered by a manager and sets off on a U.S. tour to build his following and make his dreams come true.”
“Jawline” made its world premiere in Sundance’s U.S. Documentary competition. The fest presented Mandelup with a Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker for her work on the film, which marks her feature directorial debut. She previously helmed shorts “Showpony,” “Sundown,” and “Fangirl.”
NEON snagged North American rights to “Honeyland,” a press release announced. The documentary centers on Hatidze Muratova, the last in a long line of wild beekeepers. Along with her ailing mother, Hatidze lives in the mountains in the Balkans. Her village has no roads, electricity, or running water, and the nearest city is four hours away by foot. Kotevska and Stefanov chronicle “Hatidze’s peaceful existence [as it’s] thrown into upheaval by the arrival of an itinerant family, with their roaring engines, seven rambunctious children, and herd of cattle.”
“’Honeyland’ began as just another simple story, but it grew to become so much more. We are so proud of the final film, and there is no better way to get immersed in it than to experience it on the big screen,” stated Kotevska and Stefanov. “Thank you, NEON, for the opportunity to bring ‘Honeyland’ to audiences the way we always wanted it to be seen.”
At Sundance, Kotevska and Stefanov won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change and the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary for “Honeyland.” The film also received the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Originality.
Previously, Kotevska wrote and directed shorts “House on a Rocky Road” and “Free hugs.”
Nisha Ganatra’s comedic take on diversity hires, “Late Night,” Rachel Lears’ political documentary “Knock Down the House,” and Gurinder Chadha’s tale of a young Springsteen fan, “Blinded by the Light,” are among the other women-helmed Sundance titles that have secured distribution out of the fest.
