FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2021

CINEMA GUILD ACQUIRES CANNES PRIZE WINNER A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING

NEW YORK, NY (Oct 18, 2021) – Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of U.S. distribution rights for A Night of Knowing Nothing, the debut feature from Indian director Payal Kapadia that won the Golden Eye award for best documentary at the Cannes Film Festival in July. The film also won the Amplify Voices Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Emerging Cinematic Vision Award in Camden International Film Festival and was an official selection of the New York Film Festival.

Through fictional love letters found in a cupboard at the Film and Television Institute of India, we meet L, a film student writing to her estranged lover while he is away. Gradually we’re immersed in the drastic changes taking place at the school and in the lives of young people across the country as they take to the streets to protest widespread discrimination.

In her debut film, Payal Kapadia deftly merges reality with fiction, weaving together archival footage with student protest videos to create a vital tapestry of the personal and the political. With its dreamlike editing rhythms and a revelatory use of sound, A Night of Knowing Nothing is both an essential document of contemporary India and a nostalgic look at youth fighting the injustice of their time.

"A Night of Knowing Nothing is a rare film of quiet power and heralds the arrival of a fresh voice on the world cinema stage," said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly. "We can’t wait to share Payal Kapadia’s sensitive and incendiary work with audiences across the U.S."

"We have always admired the bold cinematic works in the catalogue of Cinema Guild, so we are very proud to now be part of it with A Night of Knowing Nothing," said Square Eyes’ Wouter Jansen.

The deal was negotiated by Peter Kelly of Cinema Guild with Wouter Jansen of Square Eyes.

Cinema Guild is a premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, whose upcoming releases include Hong Sangsoo's Introduction and In Front of Your Face, Joshua Bonnetta's The Two Sights and Ramon and Silvan Zürcher's The Girl and the Spider. Recent releases include Rodrigo Reyes' 499, Matías Piñeiro's Isabella and Kazik Radwanski's Anne at 13,000 ft.

For press inquiries, please contact us at:

(212) 685-6242 or press at cinemaguild dot com

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