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Film Movement Hires ‘Teacher’ for North America (EXCLUSIVE)

Film Movement will give a North American release to “The Teacher,” the Czechoslovakia-set drama that has become a star performer on the international festival circuit.

The New York-based distributor anticipates giving the film a theatrical outing in Spring 2017, followed by digital and home video releases. Rights were acquired from Denmark-based sales agent LevelK in a deal signed by Michael E. Rosenberg, Film Movement president, and LevelK’s CEO Tine Klint.

Directed by Jan Hrebek, “The Teacher” had its world premiere in Karlovy Vary and this week plays in the Tokyo Film Festival. It had its North American premiere earlier this month at The Hamptons.

The film is based on the 1980s autobiographical experiences of screenwriter Petr Jarchovsky and stars Zuzana Maurery and Peter Bebjak. The story sees school officials turn against a corrupt woman teacher after a series of incidents. But the teacher’s political connections mean that parents and the school principal must take a considerable risk. Each family must choose to stand up for what they believe in or silently keep the status quo.

“’The Teacher’ is the kind of movie that stays with you. Zuzana Maurery’s performance as the teacher is so sharp, audiences will readily engage in the ideas of survival and humanity that the film provokes. We look forward to bringing this film to audiences next year,” said Rosenberg.

Established in 2002, with a lineup that emphasizes festival titles, Film Movement has released more than 250 feature films and shorts Latterly its theatrical distribution strategy has evolved to include promising American independent films, documentaries, and a strong slate of foreign art house titles.

Other recent acquisitions have included Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “After The Storm,” Kristina Grozeva and Petr Valchanov’s “Glory,” Koji Fukada’s “Harmonium” and Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice.”

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