WOLFE RELEASING
Established in 1985, Wolfe Releasing is the oldest distributor in North America to solely focus on LGBT-inclusive cinema. The company focuses on the distribution of independent films that tell the stories of the LGBT community. Although the company has an impressive roster of films, a few are particularly noteworthy. The 2004 drama Brother to Brother is about an interracial gay couple that meets an older gay man in Harlem, who tells them about gay life during the Harlem Renaissance. The French drama Tomboy (2001) follows a gender non-conforming child who decides to live as a boy after moving to a new neighborhood, and Undertow (2009) is a Peruvian film about a fisherman who has an affair with a male painter. Last year, Wolfe released Reaching for the Moon, a biographical film about the relationship between Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop. Wolfe also released Five Dances, a film about a Midwestern ballet dancer moving to New York City. Additional films include Petunia, White Frog, and Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean.
STRAND RELEASING
When Strand Releasing was founded in 1989, its primary focus was the distribution of LGBT-inclusive films. In recent years the independent distributor has branched out, releasing non-LGBT films as well, while maintaining a focus on foreign films. Some of the highlights among the many inclusive films released by Strand are The Living End (1992) about a gay movie critic and a drifter who go on a dangerous road trip; Stonewall (1995), a fictionalization of the Stonewall riots; and Yossi and Jagger (2002) about two Israeli army officers who have to hide their love for each other. In 2013, the company released a sequel to Yossi and Jagger simply called Yossi, in which the titular character finds his sense of life and love rekindled when he meets a young soldier.
BREAKING GLASS PICTURES
Breaking Glass Pictures was founded in 2009 as a distributor of global independent films. The company has released several significant LGBT films and documentaries to DVD and On Demand in the past, and last year upped its distribution of LGBT-inclusive films to theaters. Among those are I Do, a drama about the immigration struggles faced by same-sex binational couples; Out in the Dark, a film about the relationship between an Israeli and a Palestinian gay man; and Geography Club, a teenage comedy about a high school gay-straight alliance. Breaking Glass Pictures’ other releases featuring LGBT storylines in 2013 include Laurence Anyways and Bob’s New Suit.
IFC FILMS AND SUNDANCE SELECTS
Under the AMC Networks umbrella, IFC Films distributes independent films and documentaries, while its IFC Midnights arm releases films in the horror and thriller genre. Another AMC Networks property, Sundance Selects, focuses on the distribution of independent films, documentaries and foreign films. One of their most successful and critically acclaimed films was the 2011 drama Weekend, about two men who begin a relationship shortly before one of them has to leave the country. In 2013, the company released the controversial but critically acclaimed French lesbian coming-of-age drama Blue is the Warmest Color. Other inclusive theater releases in 2013 include Breaking the Girls, Una Noche, The Canyons, Contracted, Dealin’ with Idiots and The Jeffrey Dahmer Files.