Kino Lorber to Distribute Zeitgeist Films

26 Jun, 2017 By: John Latchem

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Kino Lorber has entered a multiyear agreement to distribute titles from Zeitgeist Films, the indie distributor founded and run by industry veterans Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo.

Under the alliance, Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films will co-acquire four to five theatrical titles per year to be marketed and released by Zeitgeist Films. Kino Lorber will become the exclusive distributor of all Zeitgeist Films titles for the home video and educational markets, as well as all digital media, adding Zeitgeist’s library of more than 130 award-winning titles to Kino Lorber’s library of more than 1,500 new and classic films.    

Founded in 1988, Zeitgeist Films has distributed first films by such notable directors as Todd Haynes, Christopher Nolan, Laura Poitras, François Ozon, Atom Egoyan and the Quay Brothers. Their catalog includes films from the such filmmakers as Agnès Varda, Guy Maddin, Olivier Assayas, Abbas Kiarostami, Derek Jarman, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Greenaway, Yvonne Rainer, Jan Svankmajer, Andrei Zyvagintsev, Astra Taylor and Raoul Peck, to name a few.

Five Zeitgeist films have been nominated for Academy Awards and one, Nowhere in Africa, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Among the company’s other noteable theatrical releases are Bill Cunningham New York, The Corporation, Aimee & Jaguar, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Ballets Russes and Into Great Silence.

In July, Gerstman and Russo will relocate to Kino Lorber’s Manhattan office along with Adrian Curry, who will become design director for Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films.

“Our collaboration with Kino Lorber is a major step for us, possibly the most significant since we began our company 28 years ago. We are like-minded companies in many ways and anticipate a very successful partnership,” Gerstman and Russo said in a press release.

“Nancy and Emily share our DNA in their passion for great cinema. Their superb taste and astute judgment distinguishes them as the leading curators in the world of art house distribution. We foresee compelling synergies as we pursue our joint mission with joined forces,” Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber said in a statement.

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