As the 2014 Sundance Film Festival winds down to a close with the annual awards ceremony giving prizes to the top films selected by the various juries and audience members, RADiUS-TWC stepped forward to pick up its second film of the festival, acquiring the worldwide rights to Stephanie Soechtig’s Fed Up, which is executive produced by journalist Katie Couric and Laurie David (An Inconvenient Truth).
The documentary follows the controversial topic of childhood obesity and how, despite major changes in the dietary guidelines by the U.S. government instituted three decades ago, many kids will live shorter lives than their parents. The film follows a group of obese children over two years as Soechtig (Tapped) got close and personal while following their uphill battles to lose weight.
Earlier in the fest, RADiUS-TWC picked up the rights to Charlie McDowell’s directorial debut, the romantic comedy The One I Love, starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss, but Fed Up joins their impressive roster of documentaries that includes no less than two Oscar-nominated docs in 20 Feet From Stardom and Cutie and the Boxer.
RADiUS-TWC will also be releasing Errol Morris’ The Unknown Known, a thematic follow-up to his Oscar-winning The Fog of War focusing on Donald Rumsfeld, on April 2.
Much of the buzz around the movie has been due to the involvement of Couric in what continues to be a hot topic issue, and you can read a glowingly positive review of the film over on IndieWire.
The full press release and more information on the film is below:
RADiUS is proud to announce that it has acquired its second film at Sundance when it purchased worldwide rights to FED UP, one of the most talked about films at the Festival.
The company, whose co-president Tom Quinn has successfully tackled several food related docs in his previous positions dating back to SUPER SIZE ME, FOOD INC. and JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI, plans to release the film later this year.
FED UP was produced by Soechtig, Eve Marson and Sarah Olson. In addition to Couric and David, the other executive producers are Scully, Heather Reisman, Michael Walrath and Michelle Walrath. Co producers are Kristin Lazure and Sarah Gibson.
According to Quinn and Janego: “After seeing Stephanie’s brilliant, eye opening film, we immediately recognized the unprecedented opportunity to affect change in terms of how we eat. We look forward to collaborating with this exceptional team and can’t get started soon enough.”
Soechtig goes on to say; My team at Atlas Films and I are thrilled to have found a partner in RADiUS-TWC. With their passion for the film and issue, we are confident we can make an impact and save all our children.
Couric echoes the sentiment: “I am so proud and grateful to the Atlas team for nurturing what was just an idea three years ago and helping it blossom into a film that is not only educating people but moving them to act. Knowledge is power and we hope that creating a greater awareness about the food we eat we will inspire the public to change their habits and help our children lead the lives they deserve. RADiUS has a great track record to be the perfect partner in sharing this project that I hope will help people in this country and all around the world lead longer, healthier lives.”
Quinn and Janego negotiated the deal with Cinetic on behalf of the filmmakers.
