Press release

Montreal, August 24, 2004 - Atopia will launch a new distribution arm in conjunction with the release of the award-winning debut feature film by Federico Hidalgo’s A Silent Love across Canada and the US in the fall of 2004.

Montreal-based Atopia’s primary objective will be to acquire and release independent films in Canada and the US. Initially focusing on releasing Atopia produced films, the distribution arm will focus on acquiring foreign films as of early 2005, specializing in Latin-American cinema. Plan for spring 2005, is to acquire Canadian films at script level. Atopia is currently seeking partnership with leading Canadian & US video distributors to access the growing DVD market.

Head of Atopia, Pascal Maeder is producer of such films as Between the Moon and Montevideo and SPIT: Squeegee Punks In Traffic (2001). In 2000, he founded Atopia through which he produced El Ring (2002); A Silent Love (2003) and Jimmywork (2004).

Since premiering at Sundance in January 2004, A Silent Love has garnered numerous awards including Best Screenplay at the Miami Latin Film Festival and Brooklyn International Film Festival, along with Outstanding Performance for Susana Salazar at the Miami Latin Film Festival. The film stars Vanessa Bauche (Amores Perros), Noel Burton and Susana Salazar.

To head the new distribution division is Joëlle Medina. Hailing from Alliance Releasing in Toronto where she handled marketing, publicity and promotion for such films as Life is Beautiful, Shakespeare in Love, she later moved to Montreal to become Director of Marketing and Development at Remstar and is known for having created the marketing campaigns in Canada and the US for the controversial French film Baise- Moi.

Atopia’s latest production Jimmywork will have its world premiere at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. Written and directed by Simon Sauve, JIMMYWORK is an electrifying cross between Film Noir and Cinema Vérité. Slated for production next year are Hidalgo’s second feature entitled IMITATION, a dramatic comedy set in Montreal, and THE AFRICAN DREAM, Attila Bertalan’s latest project set in Africa.

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News posted Tuesday, August 24, 2004.