The Wagner/Cuban Company's Magnolia Pictures announced today that the company is acquiring U.S. theatrical distribution rights to NO PLACE ON EARTH from HISTORY FILMS(TM), which has U.S. TV rights. The feature documentary tells the gripping story of a Jewish family who took refuge in a cave for nearly two years to evade Nazi capture. The acquisition announcement comes less than 48 hours following the film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday night, where it received a lengthy standing ovation.
NO PLACE ON EARTH brings to light the untold story of thirty-eight Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in caves for eighteen months, the longest-recorded sustained underground survival. Built upon interviews with former cave inhabitants, as well as Chris Nicola, the caving enthusiast who unearthed the story, NO PLACE ON EARTH is an extraordinary testament to ingenuity, willpower and endurance against all odds.
NO PLACE ON EARTH is the directorial debut of Janet Tobias, a former producer for 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC and Nightline.
John Anderson of Variety called the film "a substantial contribution to holocaust cinema that defies the notion that the era has been exhausted of its stories, or the ways they can be told."
"NO PLACE ON EARTH is an incredibly moving and thrilling story, told with real eloquence and gripping excitement," said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. "Janet Tobias has powerfully brought to life a stunning chapter of history that will resonate with audiences of all kinds."
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Ted Tobias: "We are so happy to have found a home for NO PLACE ON EARTH with Magnolia Pictures. The company has an incredible track record with documentaries, and we are thrilled this special story will be reaching the widest possible audience."
Says Dirk Hoogstra, Senior Vice President, Programming & Development, HISTORY(R), "HISTORY is incredibly proud of our role in bringing this utterly harrowing but also inspiring tale of survival to a wide audience."
NO PLACE ON EARTH was produced by Rafael Marmor along with Tobias, Paul Laikin, Nadav Schirman, Susan Barnett and Zita Kisgergely.
The deal for NO PLACE ON EARTH was negotiated by Josh Braun and David Koh at Submarine with Dori Begley, Magnolia's Senior Vice President of Acquisitions.
Magnolia will release NO PLACE ON EARTH theatrically in 2013.
NO PLACE ON EARTH is produced by HISTORY's film arm HISTORY FILMS(TM) in collaboration with Sierra/Tan
Go Productions. The film is directed by Janet Tobias - Emmy award winning director/producer (CBS 60 Minutes, ABC Primetime Live, NBC Dateline, ABC Nightline, PBS Frontline, PBS Life 360). Cinematographers are Cesar Charlone (City of God, Constant Gardener, Blindness), Edu Grau (A Single Man, Buried,
Arthur Newman) and
Peter Simonite (Friday Night Lights and Tree of Life). Editors are Deidre Slevin (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Gaudi Afternoon) and Claus Wehlisch (Cloud Atlas, The Three Musketeers). Producers are Janet Tobias, Rafael Marmor (Blue Blood), Paul Laikin and Susan Barnett. Executive Producers for HISTORY are Susan Werbe, Molly Thompson and David McKillop.
About HISTORY(TM) FILMS
HISTORY Films seeks to bring cinematic stories by outstanding independent filmmakers to the widest possible audience. Through HISTORY Films, the network will pursue dramatic non-fiction films about extraordinary people and those singular moments in our past, present and future that stand out forever, demonstrating that History is Made Every Day. The HISTORY Films roster currently includes: the award winning Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) (National Critics; LA Critics; NY Critics awards),produced by Creative Differences for HISTORY Films in association with MORE 4); Magic Bus (produced by Phoenix Wiley and HISTORY FILMS); Page One (presented by Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media and HISTORY FILMS); and Countdown to Zero (2010) (a co-presentation with Participant, produced by Creative Differences for HISTORY Films in association with MORE 4). HISTORY FILMS(TM) most recently announced THE UNKNOWN KNOWN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DONALD RUMSFELD, a feature documentary directed by Academy Award winner
Errol Morris (The Fog of War; A Brief History of Time; The Thin Blue Line).
About HISTORY(R)
HISTORY(R) is the leading destination for factual entertainment, including award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network's all-original programming slate, including scripted event programming, features a litany of hits including American Pickers(R), American Restoration(TM), Ax Men(TM), Ice Road Truckers(R), Pawn Stars(R), Swamp People(R) and Top Shot(R) as well as epic specials such as the Emmy(R) Award-winning Gettysburg, America The Story of Us, WWII in HD and 102 Minutes That Changed America. The HISTORY website is theleading online resource for all things history, and in 2011, the United States
Library of Congress selected HISTORY's Civil War 150 site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the American Civil War sesquicentennial.
