TORONTO 2010

Alamo Drafthouse Starts Distribution Label - Drafthouse Films

by Alex Billington
September 9, 2010

Some big news this morning. The world famous Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas announced that they're starting a distribution label called Drafthouse Films and will be releasing the British "terrorist comedy" Four Lions (that showed at Sundance earlier this year). "I've been a huge fan of Chris Morris' comedic television and radio for years. To launch our new distribution label with what I consider to be a modern classic is a dream come true," said Drafthouse founder Tim League. This is exciting news for anyone in the film world, as the Drafthouse is a strong brand and it's great to see Tim testing the waters in distribution.

There aren't many details yet on how Drafthouse Films will work, but they'll be kicking things off with a 10 city promo screening tour (featuring Four Lions) before opening the film limited in New York, Los Angeles and Austin in the fall. I imagine that means it'll eventually open in all 10 cities or they wouldn't be building some buzz there without that promise. This is exciting because the indie distribution world is struggling a bit (Apparition is on the verge of shutting after a year) and I have enough confidence in someone as smart as Tim League to do a fantastic job with this. Let's hope this ends up being as successful as we all want them to be!

This is an exciting announcement and I'll be looking forward to seeing what other features Drafthouse Films picks up and how they handle the release of Four Lions. I've heard good things about the film, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. Tim League's Fantastic Fest at the Drafthouse in Austin starts up in a few weeks as well, so stay tuned for more from that fest. Visit the official Drafthouse Films website: drafthousefilms.com.

Filed under Review, TIFF 10

From around the web: