children of invention + white on rice theatrical release

Good news for indie film fans.... the people behind the hit festival favorites Children of Invention and White on Rice are teaming up for DIWO ("Do It With Others") joint theatrical release in New York City. The double bill will debut on March 12 at the newly renovated BIG Cinemas Manhattan. Here's the press release:

FESTIVAL DARLINGS "CHILDREN OF INVENTION" AND "WHITE ON RICE" JOIN FORCES FOR JOINT THEATRICAL RELEASE IN NEW YORK CITY
Award-Winning Filmmakers Embrace "DIWO Distribution" and
Shifting Release Windows in the Current Independent Film Revolution

New York, NY - The creators of the award-winning independent films CHILDREN OF INVENTION and WHITE ON RICE are collaborating for a unique joint theatrical release in New York City. The double bill will debut on March 12, 2010 at the newly renovated BIG Cinemas Manhattan (formerly the ImaginAsian Theater), sharing the facility's single screen. Dylan Marchetti of theatrical distribution company Variance Films proposed the alliance and negotiated the pact with the theater. The Big Cinemas run will mark the New York theatrical debut for both films. Audience members will be offered a significant discount for purchasing tickets to both films.

Of the joint run, CHILDREN OF INVENTION producer Mynette Louie said, "We kept running into the WHITE ON RICE folks on our festival run, so we all became good friends. It makes perfect sense for us to buoy each other's promotional efforts in true ‘DIWO' style. DIWO means ‘Do It With Others,' and it's much more fruitful than DIY, particularly in this hostile climate for indie films." CHILDREN OF INVENTION will also open simultaneously in Los Angeles on March 12 at the Downtown Independent. It will first open in Boston for a hometown run on February 26 at the Brattle Theatre.

Written and directed by Tze Chun, CHILDREN OF INVENTION is about two young children outside Boston who are left to fend for themselves when their mother gets embroiled in a pyramid scheme and disappears. The 2009 Sundance Film Festival selection has amassed 15 festival awards, screened at over 40 festivals, and was named one of the Top 13 Films of 2009 by Hammer to Nail. Chun and Louie recently made Ted Hope's list of "21 Brave Thinkers Of Truly Free Film" for their DIWO festival/DVD distribution strategy.

WHITE ON RICE is a raucous comedy about Hajime "Jimmy" Beppu (Hiroshi Watanabe, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA), a recently divorced lovable loser crashing on his 10-year-old nephew's bunk bed. A chance encounter with a distant relative leads him to plot his romantic comeback. After a six-month long festival run, the film has been released theatrically in ten cities through Variance Films, grossing over $60,000, and has been shown as part of Range Life Entertainment's college tour. The film, which has been declared "a cinematic milestone" by the San Francisco Chronicle, won two Special Jury awards at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. WHITE ON RICE will have its Japan premiere at the 2010 Osaka Asian Film Festival.

Also a DIWO pioneer, WHITE ON RICE director Dave Boyle said, "In the new indie filmmaking landscape, we've got to become more proactive about helping each other build an audience. I'm very proud to be working with my friends from CHILDREN and I hope these kinds of collaborations become the norm."

Dylan Marchetti, president of Variance Films, a theatrical distribution company dedicated solely to the DIWO philosophy of working directly with filmmakers to help them get their films into theaters while keeping full control of all of their rights, said, "We believe there is one single rule in the world of distribution that actually needs to be followed, and that is that good films belong in movie theaters. Any other rules can, and likely should, be ignored. This is a prime example. Why can't two great films team up for a release in New York? Why can't filmmakers sell their own DVDs by the exit? Why can't filmmakers take ownership and contribute to the success of their films? Dave, Tze, and Mynette are some of the most forward-thinking people I've met in 14 years in this industry, and I'm delighted to have the chance to help the get their films out into the world."

In a sign of shifting distribution windows, both CHILDREN OF INVENTION and WHITE ON RICE are currently available on DVD in a limited edition, directly from the films' websites. Screening times, theater directions, and other information can also be found on the sites:
www.childrenofinvention.com
www.whiteonricethemovie.com

Cool, right? So, if you're in New York, you get two great films screening together on March 12. Children of Invention will also screen simultaneously in Los Angeles on March 12, as well as open for a hometown run in Boston on February 26. For more information about the joint theatrical release, as well as the two films, visit the Children of Invention website here and the White on Rice website here.