Amazon has bought Ella Balinska’s supernatural film ‘Run Sweetheart Run’ – Variety
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In today’s Film News Roundup, the Sundance miracle film “Run Sweetheart Run” has found a home, Sundance programmer David Courier has retired and “Linda Ronstat: The Sound of My Voice” has been screened for free for one week.
Acquisition
Amazon Studios has bought Ella Balinska-starrer Shane Fest’s supernatural film “Run Sweetheart Run” from Blamhouse Productions and Automatic. It will launch exclusively on Amazon Prime Video worldwide.
The thriller premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will be screened at SXSW before it is canceled. Written and directed by Fest, “Sweetheart Run Run” also stars Pilu Asbak, Amal Amin, Dio Okenei, Betsy Brand, Clark Gregg and Shohreh Agadashlu.
Balinska plays a single mother who goes on a blind date that becomes violent and has to walk back home through Los Angeles according to her date.
“I wrote and directed a film based on a personal story for me so that listeners can find the film’s protagonist’s experience, and I’m thrilled that viewers around the world will soon have the opportunity to see it on Amazon Prime,” Fest said. “I am grateful to Universal and my friends at Bloomhouse for their tireless support of the film.
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“Run Sweetheart Run” is a separate acquisition that does not fall under the previously announced Amazon Studio and the eight-titled Bloomhouse television slate. The news was first reported by Deadline.
Availability of protection
The Sundance Institute has announced that veteran programmer David Courier is retiring on June 30, two decades later.
He has been the chief programmer of the Courier Sundance Film Festival: London, which he has held since its inception in 2012. He has also been the writer, director and producer of the Sundance Awards show for the past 13 years. He has overseen public programming for all institute programs since 2010.
During his tenure at the Institute, he has represented Sundance internationally in providing services to courier juries, speaking on panels, and building relationships with film commissions, industry, and artists around the world. He was set to serve as a member of the L’Oreal Dio documentary jury at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival this May, but Cannes is looking forward to 2021. He is a former co-director of Outfest programming.
Free show
The BrightFocus Foundation will present a free-to-the-public virtual presentation of the documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Word of My Word” June 4-10-10.
The exhibition will feature a introduction by producer James Ketch and a discussion of their current research with key scientists.
“I believe in the power and commitment of science to end disease and save lives, and that’s why I’m delighted to be able to showcase both the miraculous beauty of Linder’s voice in this film, as well as the bold, up-to-date research of BrightFocus,” Ketch said.
Made in more than 50 years of interviews, Ronstadt describes the film, which marks his career from day one in Tucson, Arizona, with his untimely retirement in 2011 due to Parkinson’s disease.
