Director Tony Kaye’s feature film Detachment has won the Cartier Revelation Prize at the Deauville 37th American Film Festival, marking the latest honor its and Kaye have earned on the festival circuit.
Detachment stars Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody as Henry Barthes, an educator with a true talent to connect with his students. Yet Henry has chosen to bury his gift. By spending his days as a substitute teacher, he conveniently avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form an attachment to either students or colleagues. When a new assignment places him at a public school where a frustrated, burned-out administration has created an apathetic student body, Henry soon becomes a role model to the disaffected youth. In finding an unlikely emotional connection to the students, teachers, and a runaway teen he takes in from the streets, Henry realizes that he’s not alone in his life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world.
The Detachment cast also includes Christina Hendricks, James Caan, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Bryan Cranston, William Petersen and Tim Blake Nelson.
The Deauville award comes on the heels of Detachment being the closing night film at the Woodstock Film Festival where Kaye also won the 2011 Honorary Maverick Award. The Maverick kudo is given each year to an individual whose life and work is based on creativity, independent vision, and social activism. Previous recipients include Kevin Smith, Christine Vachon, Barbara Kopple, Tim Robbins, Les Blank, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Woody Harrelson, Mira Nair, Steve Buscemi, and Bruce Beresford.
Kaye said, “I made America my home in 1991 for one reason only, to work with the great American actors and actresses of this era and to find new ones–to go deeper, to help them go deeper and find the truth within the spectacle. I am praying that this cool honor from Woodstock will give me an opportunity to just work more, to be able to help with what I have learned from my blessed journey so far.”
Prior to the Woodstock Festival, Tribeca Film acquired all U.S. distribution rights, including theatrical, VOD, digital, TV and DVD, to Detachment, a movie which had its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Tribeca Film, supported by founding partner American Express, plans a 2012 release via a multi-city theatrical engagement, running day-and-date with nationwide VOD and digital distribution, followed by DVD, pay-TV, and a range of other platforms.
Kaye whose commercialmaking roosts are Supply & Demand Integrated in the U.S. (which also represents actor Brody as a spot director) and Filmmaster which earlier this year began handling the director in both Italy and Spain.
Kaye’s feature film directing debut was American History X (1998), a drama about racism starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. Norton was later nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Kaye made the documentary Lake of Fire on the abortion debate in the United States, which opened in Toronto to positive reviews in September 2006. Lake of Fire made the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences short-list for Best Documentary Film. It was also nominated for Best Documentary Film at the Independent Spirit Awards, Chicago Film Critic Association Awards, and the Satellite Awards.
Director Kacper Larski Joins RSA Films For Spot Representation
RSA Films has added director Kacper Larski to its roster for commercial representation in the U.S. Larski is known for his work in automotive and sport, and a style of filmmaking which features epic visuals and gripping montage, often combining the real and surreal. Among his most recent commercial films are Garmin’s “Fenix 8” (direct to brand), U.S. Army Reserve’s “Helper” (DDB Chicago) and Bushmills Whiskey’s “Follow No One” (Mekanism). He’s also directed campaigns for Hyundai, Jeep, GMC, Subaru, VW, Mazda and Chevrolet.
Larski’s distinctive aesthetic emerged in one of his first projects, Land Rover’s “68 Years Later,” which won a Cannes Young Directors Award in 2016. Two years later, he directed the “Greatness is Rare” campaign for BBDO Toronto and the Canadian Paralympic Committee which won Cannes Lion Gold. Prior to joining RSA, Larski had most recently been repped in the U.S. market by production house Eleanor.
“The camera and film for me have always been about the ability to live 1,000 lives,” Larski said. “Stylistically, I want to transport viewers in whatever stories I’m telling--a super athlete’s runner’s high, a skier’s dream powder, a giant’s tale, even driving in space.”
“Kacper is one of the most exciting filmmakers I’ve seen over the last several years,” said Luke Ricci, president, RSA Films US. “Whether it’s a character, an emotion, an environment, car or other product, he has a special and distinctive way of capturing and articulating the world around him in all his work. He is a fantastic addition to our RSA family.”
“Joining RSA is a dream come true,” Larski said. “The roster includes some of the best filmmakers in the world, with founder Ridley Scott... Read More