Lorber picks up U.S. rights to 'Sea'

Lorber Films has picked up all U.S. rights to "Salt of the Sea," a feature set in Palestine by first-time director Annemarie Jacir. The deal was negotiated by Richard Lorber, co-president and CEO of Lorber Films, and Yoann Ubermulhin of Pyramide International. The film will have its U.S. theatrical premiere on Aug. 13 at New York's Quad Cinemas, followed by engagements in select cities, with DVD and digital distribution to follow in early 2011. No financial details were available.

Related Topics

•Asia Movies, Entertainmen...

Pic centers on Soraya (Suheir Hammad), a Brooklyn-born woman of Palestinian lineage who comes to Israel to search for the ancestral home near Jaffa from where her grandparents were ejected 60 years ago. Once she arrives, reality strikes hard and her mission to claim what is hers and fulfill her dream to "return" to Palestine is obstructed at every turn. Shot in English and Arabic, the film was produced by Danny Glover.

" 'Salt of the Sea' is a timely, groundbreaking work and a formidable debut. That Annemarie Jacir also happens to be female and Palestinian also marks this film as part of a bold new chapter in Palestinian cinema," Lorber said.

Lorber Films is a theatrical releasing arm of Kino Lorber that specializes in international films, classics and documentary features, whose recent acquisitions include "Mademoiselle Chambon," Stephane Brize's story of unrequited love starring Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain, and "Army of Crime," Robert Guediguian's WWII drama about ethnic resistance fighters.