Kino Lorber Lands North American Rights to Sundance Doc ‘Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power’ (Exclusive):

Kino Lorber has landed the North American rights to the Sundance documentary Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, which scrutinizes the “male gaze” and visual objectification of women in film.

Brainwashed, which debuted in the Park City fest’s Premieres section and later screened at the Berlin Film Festival, argues that many of cinema history’s most iconic and acclaimed films feature gendered shot design, and that this legacy continues even in a post-#MeToo world. Drawing on interviews with filmmakers Julie Dash, Joey Soloway and Amy Ziering, film theorist Laura Mulvey and actors Rosanna Arquette and Charlyne Yi, and excerpting nearly 200 film clips, the film analyzes various sequences in beloved titles (like Raging Bull, Oldboy, The Breakfast Club and others) and asserts a lack of parity between the portrayals of male and female characters via camera movements, the use of sound, lighting and framing.

Directed by Nina Menkes, one of the first women ever to present a feature film at Sundance, Brainwashed is co-produced by Maria Giese — the filmmaker who launched the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into discrimination against female directors — and executive produced by Abigail Disney, among others.

Kino Lorber is set to release the film theatrically this fall, and has partnered with the library and university streaming platform Kanopy for exclusive educational streaming on the platform after. More specifics on the deal were not disclosed.

“Nina Menkes’ Brainwashed pulls the curtain back on the many ways male-dominated image making has been internalized by men and women alike, and the overwhelming ripple effect it has had on our culture,” Kino Lorber svp Wendy Lidell said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have the privilege of bringing Nina’s film to audiences in the US and Canada, and expect the film to spark impassioned debates among everyone who sees it.”

Kanopy general manager Jason Tyrrell added in a statement, “Making Brainwashed widely available, including for academic use, ensures a new generation of filmmakers, researchers and cinema enthusiasts will have access to a powerful tool to help re-contextualize the entire history of the art form.” He said, “Universities and library communities that view Nina Menkes’s film will be foundational in creating and supporting an industry that can begin to acknowledge and think critically about how the male gaze has impacted both the creation of art and its imprint on public life.”

Lidell negotiated the deal for Kino Lorber, while UTA Independent Fim Group backed the filmmakers. Cinephil will be representing the film for international sales at the Cannes Film Market for certain territories (deals have already been made for the U.K. and Ireland, the Nordics and Baltics, Poland, Spain, Italy and Israel).

View this article at The Hollywood Reporter.