Alex Gibney's Latest Documentary “Citizen K
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ALEX GIBNEY’S LATEST DOCUMENTARY “CITIZEN K” LAUNCHES INTO OSCAR RACE WITH FALL RELEASE An Amazon Exclusive, CITIZEN K was a resounding success after its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival with critics calling it Gibney’s best film in years. New York, NY, October 2, 2019 – Alex Gibney’s critically acclaimed documentary, Citizen K, will have a national release beginning later this year. Greenwich Entertainment, which handled the theatrical release of last year’s Academy Award-winning documentary, Free Solo, will release the film in Los Angeles on November 22. It will expand to other cities in the early part of 2020. Citizen K was directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) and produced by Gibney, John Battsek, P.J. Van Sandwijk, George Chignell and Erin Edeiken. Amazon financed the film, which received rapturous critical and audience response calling it “wildly entertaining” and “a scalding portrait of Putin’s Russia” following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. The film also premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Camden Film Festival, and will screen next at the London Film Festival, AFI Film Festival, The Double Exposure Festival in DC and IDFA in Amsterdam. Following the North American theatrical release, Amazon will release the film on its worldwide SVOD platform, Amazon Prime. Alex Gibney’s revelatory Citizen K is an intimate yet sweeping look at post-Soviet Russia from the perspective of the enigmatic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oligarch turned political dissident. Benefitting from the chaos that followed the dissolution of the U.S.S.R., Khodorkovsky was able to amass a fortune in financing and oil production and became the richest man in Russia. However, when he accused the new Putin regime of corruption, Khodorkovsky was arrested, his assets seized and following a series of show trials, sentenced to more than ten years in prison. Today, as an exile living in London, he continues to speak out against Putin’s two-decade stranglehold on power. Expertly researched and photographed, Gibney uses Khodorkovsky’s story to explore the complex interplay between oligarchy and government and its destructive effect on democracy in Russia and beyond. “The portrait of a man of modest beginnings who assembles and loses a vast industrial empire in post-Soviet Russia and the titanic struggle between his conflicting ambitions for his country with those of Vladimir Putin’s as told by one of our best chroniclers of power and its many abuses. It’s essential viewing,” opines Greenwich’s Ed Arentz. “I am delighted with the release plans for Citizen K,” says Gibney. “It’s a vitally important moment in the US – as another presidential election looms over the horizon – for Americans – and people around the world – to understand how power works in Russia.” 1 An Amazon Exclusive, “Citizen K” was produced by Jigsaw Productions, Passion Pictures and Storyteller Productions. Amazon Exclusive and Greenwich Entertainment deals have been negotiated by Jonathan Ford, Executive Vice President of Sales at leading international sales company, Kew Media Distribution. About Passion Pictures Passion Pictures’ first feature documentary ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER was conceived and produced by John Battsek and went on to win an Academy Award® in 1999. Passion has since been at the forefront of feature documentary production – as evidenced by a prolific run of multi- award-winning films, a reputation for securing international theatrical releases, and – as of 2019 – an unprecedented fourteen consecutive years premiering films at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Passion’s most notable titles include: ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, RESTREPO, THE TILLMAN STORY, THE IMPOSTER, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, WINTER ON FIRE, LISTEN TO ME MARLON, ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS and THE FINAL YEAR. More recently, Passion have produced a Netflix Original three-part docu-series titled FIVE CAME BACK, as well as HILLSBOROUGH – the definitive account of Britain’s worst sporting disaster which was awarded two BAFTAs. In 2019 Passion has had films including CITIZEN K & THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM selected in prestigious festivals around the world including Sundance, Venice, Frameline, Telluride, Toronto, London and Hawaii – these films and others see Passion collaborate with some of the most exciting filmmakers, writers, journalists, editors, composers, cinematographers and production partners working in the industry today. About Kew Media Distribution Kew Media Distribution, part of Kew Media Group, distributes a diverse catalogue of film, television and digital assets to broadcasters and viewing platforms across the world. Kew Media Distribution manages international rights to a library of over 11,000 hours of TV and digital content, including major drama series, non-fiction entertainment, special event programming, kids’ series, TV movies and mini-series. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.kewmedia.com. 2 .