FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2025

CINEMA GUILD ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO DRY LEAF BY ALEXANDRE KOBERIDZE

NEW YORK, NY (September 4, 2025) – Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of North American distribution rights to Dry Leaf, the highly anticipated third feature from acclaimed Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze (What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?). Dry Leaf had its World Premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival in August, where it competed for the Golden Leopard. The film will have its North American Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and will screen at the New York Film Festival in October 2025 for its U.S. Premiere. Cinema Guild will open the film theatrically in 2026, followed by a national theatrical rollout.

Set against the quiet landscapes of rural Georgia, Dry Leaf follows Irakli (David Koberidze), a father searching for his missing daughter, Lisa, a young sports photographer who vanished while documenting football fields in remote villages. Joined by Lisa’s enigmatic friend Levani (Otar Nijaradze), he embarks on a journey across the countryside, encountering strangers, children, and fragments of Lisa’s presence. Their fruitless search gradually becomes a meditative odyssey until a mysterious event offers one final clue, drawing Irakli and Levani into the unknown and rekindling a faint glimmer of hope.

The deal was negotiated by Peter Kelly of Cinema Guild with Ioanna Stais of Heretic, the international sales agent of the film. "Alexandre Koberidze is a filmmaker of rare vision and with a distinct voice that we are honored to help bring to audiences," said Peter Kelly, President of Cinema Guild.

"We are thrilled that Dry Leaf will be released in North America by The Cinema Guild, a partner we deeply trust to bring Alexandre Koberidze’s singular vision to audiences with the care and commitment it deserves. With its distinctive style and deeply human storytelling, the film is bound to connect with viewers in a memorable way,” added Ioanna Stais, Head of Sales & Acquisitions at Heretic.

Dry Leaf is produced by Mariam Shatberashvili and Luise Hauschild of New Matter Films alongside Koberidze. Cinematography and editing are credited to Koberidze, with music and sound by Giorgi Koberidze. Born in Tbilisi and trained at the German Film & TV Academy Berlin, Koberidze is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary world cinema. His previous feature What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? premiered in Competition at the Berlinale, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize and went on to screen widely around the world. His debut Let the Summer Never Come Again won the Grand Prix at FID Marseille.

A premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, Cinema Guild’s upcoming releases include a retrospective of João César Monteiro’s films in 4k restorations, Marta Mateus' Fire of Wind, and Ben River's Bongancloch. Recent releases include Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich's The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, Hong Sangsoo's By the Stream, a retrospective of the French New Wave filmmaker Luc Moullet, Shinji Somai's The Friends, and Matías Piñeiro's You Burn Me.

For press inquiries, please contact us at:

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

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