Neon Buys Laura Poitras Documentary ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’

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“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras’s new documentary about artist and activist Nan Goldin, has sold to Neon.

The indie studio acquired the film before it was scheduled to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It has also landed prominent spots at the Toronto Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, where it will get the centerpiece slot. That kind of endorsement for a film which had yet to land a distribution deal is a sign of both Poitras’s prominence in the documentary community, as well as the movie’s awards potential.

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Neon said it will release “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” in North American theaters this fall, to be followed by ancillary and digital release. It marks Neon’s third collaboration with Poitras and her fourth with the company’s founder and CEO Tom Quinn. It was Quinn who previously released her Academy Award-winner, “Citizenfour,” a look at Wikileaks whistleblower Edward Snowden when he was in charge of Radius-TWC. Participant, which backed “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” was also a partner on that film.

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” not only examines Goldin’s work, it also charts her deeply personal relationship with the opioid epidemic. It uses slideshows, interviews, as well as Goldin’s photography and footage of her fight to hold the Sacklers, the family behind pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, accountable for the overdose crisis.

“Nan’s art and vision has inspired my work for years, and has influenced generations of filmmakers,” Poitras said. “When we began working together, it was essential to us that the film see a theatrical release. There are no better partners than Neon and Participant and I am honored to collaborate with them on this film.”

The theatrical release of “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” will coincide with “This Will Not End Well,” a major retrospective of Goldin’s work opening in October at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, which is scheduled to embark on an international tour of museums that includes the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (August 31, 2023–January 28, 2024), the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin (October 2024–March 2025) and Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan (March–July 2025). Executive Producers are Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann; Clare Carter; Alex Kwartler; and Hayley Theisen. Producers are Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Goldin, Yoni Golijov and Poitras.

Participant’s Liesl Copland, EVP of content and platform strategy, and Adam Macy, senior counsel, business and legal affairs, negotiated the deal with Jason Wald of Neon. Copland and Rob Williams, VP, Content Sales, and Submarine’s Josh Braun handled the film’s domestic sales.

Neon’s upcoming slate includes Brett Morgen’s look at the career of David Bowie, “Moonage Daydream” and the Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness” from Ruben Östlund.

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