Magnolia Pictures

New York-based film distributor Magnolia Pictures has acquired worldwide sales rights to the TIFF opening night film Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band. The deal was negotiated by Magnolia EVP Dori Begley and Magnolia SVP of acquisitions John Von Thaden with Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers. All international rights (excluding Canada) are open, with Magnolia’s head of international sales Lorna Lee Torres and international sales manager Marie Zeniter in Toronto shopping the project to global buyers. According to Magnolia, the company is planning a theatrical release for early next year.

Directed by Daniel Roher, the Crave original is the first Canadian doc ever to open TIFF. It is produced by White Pine Pictures, Bell Media Studios, Imagine Documentaries and Universal’s Shed Creative, and counts Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Randy Lennox and Michael Levine among its executive producers. In Canada, the film is scheduled to receive a theatrical release later in the year before debuting on Crave.

Voltage Pictures

Voltage Pictures has revealed it will handle worldwide sales on Aisling Chin-Yee’s feature film The Rest of Us, which makes its world premiere today (Sep. 6) in TIFF’s Discovery program. The announcement was made by the L.A.-company’s president and COO Jonathan Deckter. The Rest of Us – produced by Katie Bird and Lindsay Tapscott of Babe Nation Films, William Woods of Woods Entertainment and Emma Fleury – tells the story of a single mother (played by Heather Graham) who welcomes her ex-partner’s wife and daughter into her life. “Some of our most successful releases have centred on the portrayal of authentic, complex women so The Rest of Us immediately felt like a natural fit for us at Voltage,” said Deckter in a statement. In Canada, the film is distributed by LevelFILM. Executive Producers are Damon D’Oliveira and Patrice Theroux.

Vertical Entertainment

L.A.-based distributor Vertical Entertainment has inked a multi-territory distribution deal for Jeff Chan and Chris Pare’s Canadian sci-fi feature Code 8. Vertical has acquired worldwide rights (including the U.S.) for the project, except for Canada, Germany, Middle East, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, S. Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Russia. Vertical plans to release the film in theatres and on VOD in Q4 2019. The deal was negotiated by Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector from Vertical Entertainment with Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films and Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers. Code 8, which is not premiering at TIFF, is produced by Colony Pictures, with the participation of Telefilm, in association with Lane E Productions, the Fyzz Facility and Ontario Creates.