August 02, 2010 03:45PM EDT

TFF 2010 Rolls On: Four More Pickups

In recent weeks, four (count ‘em, four!) more TFF 2010 films were picked up for distribution: Tetsuo: The Bullet Man; Sons of Perdition; The Arbor; and Ticked-Off Trannies. Full details are not yet available about the release plans, but we’re sharing what we know so far…
 


IFC Films has acquired North American rights to two of the three films in Shinya Tsukamoto’s acclaimed Tetsuo trilogy: Tetsuo III: The Bullet Man (which premiered at TFF 2010) and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, which was made in 1992. The Bullet Man, Tsukamoto’s first film in English, follows the story of Anthony, who turns into a human weapon when his son becomes the victim of a hit-and-run car accident. From the TFF catalog: “In a time where technological advancements are constantly reshaping the way we function on a basic level, Tetsuo forces us to engage and become a part of what we're watching: a reminder that when we look into the abyss, the abyss looks into us.”

The two films are slated for an early 2011 release; we’ll keep you posted.
 


The riveting doc Sons of Perdition follows the story of several teenage boys banished from a fundamentalist polygamist Mormon sect when they (sort of) come of age. The film, which made quite a stir when it world-premiered at Tribeca, was supported by the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, and went on to win awards at the Telluride Film Festival, among others.

And now, Tyler Measom and Jennilyn Merten’s film has been picked up by none other than Oprah Winfrey herself, on behalf of her new OWN television network. In hopes of recreating the success of Oprah’s Book Club, OWN plans to showcase a series of docs through Oprah’s Documentary Film Club, “focusing on cinematic documentaries that encourage emerging creative voices to bring their stories to a mainstream television audience” [from the press release].  


 
Another film that caused a buzz (to say the least!) at TFF 2010 was Israel Luna’s Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives. This campy homage to slasher/horror/exploitation films of the 70s has been acquired by Breaking Glass Pictures. Luna told a Dallas paper that the theatrical run will begin with midnight screenings in October, in advance of a DVD release in November.
 


And finally, Variety (sorry about the paywall) announced today that Clio Barnard’s hybrid-doc feature The Arbor has been picked up by Strand Releasing, and plans are afoot for an April release. The Arbor follows the tragic story of British playwright Andrea Dunbar, who found fame in her teens during the ‘80s, when she staged a number of plays, including Rita Sue and Bob Too (which also became a film). The doc tells the at-times tragic story of her children and what happened after Dunbar’s untimely death at the age of 29—it’s a story of humanity, of a family torn apart by drug use, and of the powerful way artistic media can bring us together.

Barnard won the TFF 2010 award for Best New Documentary Filmmaker for The Arbor, and it’s one of our sentimental favorites. You won’t see another film like it anytime soon, we promise.

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What was YOUR favorite film at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival?