The acquisitions out of Sundance continue, with two more films newly announced for distribution. A press release details that the Kathryn Ferguson-directed documentary “Nothing Compares” has been picked up by Showtime Documentary Films, while Deadline reports that Bleecker Street has nabbed the rights to “892,” a thriller co-written and directed by Abi Damaris Corbin.
They join a host of other women-directed films from Sundance 2022 with previously announced distribution deals, including Sophie Hyde’s “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher,” and docs “Free Chol Soo Lee” and “Descendant,” from directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, and Margaret Brown, respectively.
“Nothing Compares” is an archive-led doc charting Sinéad OʼConnorʼs “phenomenal rise to worldwide fame, and examines how she used her voice at the height of her stardom before her iconoclastic personality led to her exile from the pop mainstream.” The film also features a new interview with the singer. Said Ferguson: “when we began making this documentary four years ago, a key objective was that we would one day be able to share the film with audiences around the world, and to celebrate Sinéad’s music and artistry with fans both old and new. We’re delighted to be partnering with Showtime to achieve that.”
The film marks Ferguson’s doc feature directorial debut, and was an official selection in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at Sundance.
A theatrical release is planned for later this year in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland prior to the Showtime premiere in the U.S.
“892” — which Corbin wrote with Kwame Kwei-Armah, based on a true story — focuses on former U.S. Marine Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega), who is on the brink of poverty when his Veterans Affairs disability check does not arrive. Out of desperation, Brown-Easley marches into a Wells Fargo Bank and declares, “I’ve got a bomb.” As Corbin explained in an interview with us, it’s “about a sincere-hearted rebellion and what it looks like and means for an individual to rebel against a broken system. … I read an article by Aaron Gell: in it I recognized a story I’d lived through with my dad. My heart was broken open and I had to tell it.”
Corbin’s feature directorial debut, the film was entered into Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast.
“Abi’s depiction of Brian’s story is an absolutely essential film that we feel deserves the widest possible audience in theaters,” said Bleecker Street’s co-founder and CEO Andrew Karpen. “It thrillingly delivers an important message and features an incredible performance from John Boyega in addition to the rest of the cast. We look forward to sharing this with audiences across the country.”
A late-summer, nationwide theatrical release is planned for the film.
