FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2022

CINEMA GUILD ACQUIRES RODRIGO REYES’ SHEFFIELD WINNER SANSÓN AND ME

NEW YORK, NY (Nov 15, 2022) – Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of U.S. distribution rights for Sansón and Me, directed by Rodrigo Reyes. The film won Best Film at Sheffield Doc/Fest in June after premiering at Tribeca Festival earlier in the year. The film was also named to the IDA and SFFILM Doc Stories shortlists and won the top prize at Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival last month. Cinema Guild will open the film in theaters next year, beginning with a run at Brooklyn Academy of Music on March 3.

During his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes (499) met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole. With no permission to interview him, Sansón and Reyes worked together over a decade, using hundreds of letters as inspiration for recreations of Sansón’s childhood—featuring members of Sansón's own family. The result is a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of the criminal justice system and pushing the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young migrant's story from oblivion.

“With Sansón and Me, Rodrigo Reyes takes the consequences of colonialism in Mexico that he explored in 499 and makes them intensely personal,” said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly. “We’re excited by the ways he continues to push the documentary form and can’t wait to share this beautiful film with audiences.”

"I am very proud that the deeply personal journey of Sansón and Me has found a home with Cinema Guild, a company with an unwavering commitment to this art form we all love so much,” said Reyes. The deal was negotiated by Peter Kelly of Cinema Guild with the film’s producers and Marc H. Simon and Dan Spencer of Fox Rothschild LLP.

Cinema Guild is a premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, whose upcoming releases include Hong Sangsoo’s Walk Up and Helena Wittmann’s Human Flowers of Flesh. Recent releases include Juan Pablo González’s Gotham Best Feature nominee Dos Estaciones, Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s The Girl and the Spider and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing.

For press inquiries, please contact us at:

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

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