Every week, I get several press releases, screening invitations and other notifications from a handful of studio contacts. While I won’t be sharing any information regarding my screening invites, some of the press releases might be of interest to my readers, so I thought I’d start sharing them in toto with all of you. These could include new image galleries for various films or important updates to upcoming releases from various smaller studios and art house production companies.

• Press Release: Presenters Announced for Outfest Legacy Awards
• Press Release: Icarus Films Acquires “Northern Light”
• Press Release: One Village Entertainment to Present “The Last Letter”

Press Release: Presenters Announced for Outfest Legacy Awards

CUBA GOODING JR, GABOUREY SIDIBE, DAN BUCATINSKY, GUILLERMO DIAZ, RAVEN-SYMONÉ AND SHANE BITNEY CRONE TO PRESENT AT OUTFEST LEGACY AWARDS

Los Angeles, CA (November 18, 2013) – Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBT stories on the screen, has announced that Cuba Gooding Jr (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Gabourey Sidibe (American Horror Stories: Coven), Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal), Guillermo Díaz (Scandal), Raven-Symoné (See Dad Run), and Shane Bitney Crone (Bridegroom) will present at the 9th annual Outfest Legacy Awards on Thursday, November 21 at the Orpheum Theatre.

Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Lee Daniels will receive the Visionary Award in recognition of his contribution to LGBT arts and media visibility. The gala will also include celebrity actors who will select a meaningful short piece from The Legacy Project archive to screen to the audience.

The Legacy Awards serve as a fundraiser to support the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, the largest archive of LGBT moving images in the world with over 30,000 pieces of material. A partnership between Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, it is the only program in the world devoted to saving and preserving LGBT moving images.

For further information about tickets, tribute journal or sponsorship opportunities please visit www.outfest.org or call 213-480-7088.

The Legacy Awards are presented by Showtime and Merrill Lynch.

About Outfest
Founded by UCLA students in 1982, Outfest is the leading organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on the screen. Outfest builds community by connecting diverse populations to discover, discuss and celebrate stories of LGBT lives. Over the past three decades, Outfest has showcased thousands of films from around the world to audiences of nearly a million, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers and protected more than 30,000 LGBT films and videos. Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival is eleven days of world-class films, discussions and parties.

About UCLA Film & Television Archive
UCLA Film & Television Archive is renowned globally for its pioneering efforts to rescue, preserve and showcase moving image media—and is dedicated to ensuring that the collective visual memory of our time is explored and enjoyed for generations to come.

Press Release: Icarus Films Acquires “Northern Light”

Icarus Films acquires NORTHERN LIGHT, Acclaimed Portrait of Snowmobile Racers and Life in Small-Town America

Interviews, preview screeners, limited tickets available for covering journalists and film programmers.

November 20, 2013, New York: Today, Icarus Films announced its acquisition of all North American distribution rights to NORTHERN LIGHT, directed by Nick Bentgen and produced by Lisa Kjerulff.

Set against the backdrop of a town’s annual snowmobile race, NORTHERN LIGHT interweaves captivating personal stories of recession-era America. The lives of three families change profoundly in the north woods of Michigan, where winters are unforgiving, jobs are hard to come by, and the line between living life and merely surviving is razor-thin. This cinematic, observational documentary explores the American working class experience through character-based storytelling. As racers and their families pin their hopes to a 500 mile-long test of endurance, small triumphs and giant sacrifices are made along the way. Dysfunction and hardship permeate the cold, but this harsh setting often becomes an incubator for community and familial intimacy.

NORTHERN LIGHT is an official selection of prestigious film festivals including True/False Film Festival 2013, Viennale Film Festival 2013, Hot Docs Festival 2013, Poland’s Aerican Film Festival 2013, and BAMcinemaFest 2013. It was awarded Best Cinematography at the 2013 New Orleans Film Festival and Most Innovative Feature at Switzerland’s 2013 Visions du Réel.

Shot in rural Michigan over several years, NORTHERN LIGHT is a strong addition to Icarus Films’ extensive collection of documentaries on American Studies, Cinema Studies, Cultural Anthropology, Economic Sociology, Family Relations and Sociology. Made with elegance and a keen eye, the film is a vital and fresh addition to contemporary American observational cinéma vérité in the tradition of Peter Davis’ MIDDLETOWN, NORTHERN LIGHT is currently available for engagements including film festivals and theatrical and non-theatrical/educational bookings.

This acquisitions deal was negotiated by Livia Bloom and Jonathan Miller of Icarus Films, for North American rights including non-theatrical, theatrical, home video and digital markets.

Press Release: One Village Entertainment to Present “The Last Letter”

ONE VILLAGE ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS “THE LAST LETTER”

Available on DVD and Digital Download December 17, 2013

LOS ANGELES (October 31, 2013) – One Village Entertainment, an RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE) brand, brings you The Last Letter on DVD and digital download December 17, 2013. The Last Letter tells the story of a newly married couple whose relationship is put to the test when the wife’s secretive past comes back to haunt them.

Sharon Leal (Dreamgirls) and Omari Hardwick (Sparkle) head an all-star cast as newlyweds Catherine and Michael. The couple’s marriage is challenged by Michael’s disapproving mother (Lynn Whitfield, The Josephine Baker Story) and Catherine’s own terrifying secret: a crippling sleep disorder that blurs nightmare and reality. When an incident from her past threatens to ruin her future, she turns to her foster brother and closest confidant, George (Gary Dourdan, CSI), who vows they will stick together…no matter what! Richard T. Jones (Why Did I Get Married?), Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Bill Cobbs (The Bodyguard) and Rocsi (Entertainment Tonight) costar in this twisted, psychological thriller from award-winning writer-director Paul D. Hannah (The Marriage Chronicles).

About RLJ Entertainment:
RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is a premier independent licensee and distributor of entertainment content and programming in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia with over 5,300 exclusive titles. RLJE is a leader in numerous genres via its owned and distributed brands such as Acorn (British TV), Image (feature films, stand-up comedy), One Village (urban), Acacia (fitness), Slingshot (faith), Athena (documentaries), Criterion (art films) and Madacy (gift sets). These titles are distributed in multiple formats including DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download, digital streaming, broadcast television (including satellite and cable), theatrical and non-theatrical.

Via its relationship with Agatha Christie Limited, a company that RLJE owns 64% of, RLJE manages the intellectual property and publishing rights to some of the greatest works of mystery fiction, including stories of the iconic sleuths Miss Marple and Poirot. And through its direct-to-consumer business, RLJE has direct contacts and billing relationships with millions of consumers.

RLJE leverages its management experience to acquire, distribute, and monetize existing and original content for its many distribution channels, including its nascent branded digital subscription channels, and engages distinct audiences with programming that appeals directly to their unique viewing interests. RLJE has proprietary e-commerce web sites for the Acorn and Acacia brands, and owns the recently launched Acorn TV digital subscription service.

About One Village Entertainment:
Launched in 2007, One Village Entertainment is a part of the Image division of RLJ Entertainment devoted to the development, production and acquisition of feature films, comedy specials, stage plays, documentaries and music content targeting the African-American consumer and urban market. The programming is distributed across multiple platforms including theatrical, broadcast, Blu-ray™/DVD, digital streaming and downloading. Among the more than 125 titles that carry the One Village imprimatur are live stand-up performances featuring Kevin Hart and Charlie Murphy; documentaries 2 Turntables and a Microphone: The Life and Death of Jam Master Jay and I Ain’t Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac; the feature films American Violet starring Oscar™-nominee Alfre Woodard, All Things Fall Apart featuring 50 Cent, the latest in Spike Lee’s Chronicles of Brooklyn Red Hook Summer and the acclaimed theatrical romantic comedy Russ Parr’s 35 & Ticking. Bestsellers include the stage play production of What My Husband Doesn’t Know by David E. Talbert, who is described by Variety as “the acknowledged kingpin of urban musicals.”