Drafthouse Films acquires Cannes' Independent Critics Week winner The Tribe, a film told in sign language, for North American distribution.
Drafthouse Films has acquired North American distribution rights to the 2014 Cannes' International Critics' Week award winner The Tribe, a new radical film told entirely in subtitle-free sign language.
Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film's narrative unfolds purely through sign language without a need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. The film dominated the Cannes' Independent Critics' Week awards, winning the Nespresso Grand Prize, the France 4 Visionary Award and the Gan Foundation Support for Distribution grant.
Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy and produced by Valentyn Vasyanovych and Iya Myslytska from Garmata Film Production, The Tribe's astonishingly intimate and raw depiction of disenchanted youth features a cast comprised entirely of non-professional, deaf actors including leads Grigory Fesenko as Sergey and Yana Novikova as Anna.
"As I was watching The Tribe, the goosebumps on my arms quickly signaled that I was seeing something truly special," said Drafthouse Films CEO Tim League. "Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy is a massive talent. I am confident that he will quickly become a world-renowned director, and I am excited and proud to be sharing his striking first feature with North America."
The filmmaker behind the making of The Tribe shares in League’s enthusiasm for the distribution deal.
"I am very glad that my film will be released in the United States," added Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. "I have always believed in the universality of film's language, and have always believed that dialogue and subtitles change the way different audiences perceive the film in different countries. I am pleased to have created a universal film that audiences around the world can perceive in the same way, regardless of race, language or country. People laugh at the same parts and are horrified by the same parts. I think The Tribe is a truly universal movie in terms of language, and this makes me supremely happy."
The Tribe will screen in select theaters across North America and will be released on a variety of VOD platforms and digital, DVD, and Blu-ray formats.
You can watch the (NSFW) trailer below.
THE TRIBE TRAILER 2014 from Oleksiy Yevtukh on Vimeo.
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