Sundance: Magnolia, Topic Studios Land Kerry Washington-Produced Doc ‘The Fight’

Magnolia Pictures and Topic Studios have scooped up the Kerry Washington-produced Sundance documentary The Fight. A source pegged the deal in the low seven figures.

Directed by Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres, the film chronicles what it is like to be an ACLU lawyer in the Trump era, beginning with the civil liberties group’s battle with the Trump administration over the so-called Muslim ban that was proposed just days after Trump’s inauguration in 2017.

The Fight, which is screening in Sundance’s U.S. Documentary Competition section, made a rousing debut Friday at the MARC Theatre in Park City. The Hollywood Reporter‘s review noted that the film’s directors “make the wise choice to focus on four of the most pivotal cases and the five lawyers litigating them.”

Matthew Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, Florence Sloan, Harry Sloan, Pilar Savone and Maria Zuckerman executive produced The Fight. Topic Studios (Spotlight, The Climb) was an early investor in the film and will co-distribute with Magnolia.

Steinberg, Kriegman and Despres previously collaborated on the doc Weiner, a Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner in 2016.

Submarine, which sold Boys State for $12 million to Apple/A24 and The Truffle Hunters for $1.5 million to Sony Pictures Classics earlier at Sundance, negotiated the deal on behalf of The Fight‘s filmmakers along with CAA Media Finance.