Participant Media Teams With Mongrel Media To Distribute Sundance Audience Award Winner Circumstance In Canada

Mongrel Media has acquired all Canadian distribution rights to Maryam Keshavarz’s Circumstance from Participant Media, which acquired the film at the Sundance Film Festival. The news was announced today by Hussain Amarshi, President and Founder of Mongrel Media, and Ricky Strauss, President of Participant Media. Winner of this year’s Sundance Audience Award, the film is set in contemporary Iran, where a wealthy family struggles to contain a teenager’s growing sexual rebellion and her brother’s dangerous obsession. In addition to making her directorial debut with Circumstance, Keshavarz produced the film with Karin Chien and Melissa M. Lee, with Christina Won serving as executive producer. Said Strauss, “Circumstance has been enthusiastically embraced by festival audiences across America, and now with our partnership with Mongrel we will be able to share to share this emotional film with Canadian moviegoers.” The deal was handled by Josh Braun/Submarine and negotiated by Hussain Amarshi for Mongrel Media and Jeff Ivers, Chief Operating Officer for Participant Media. Roadside Attractions is distributing the film in the U.S., where it is scheduled to open in New York and Los Angeles August 26. Mongrel Media will open the film in October in Canada. Founded by Hussain Amarshi in 1994, Mongrel Media one of Canada’s leading film distribution companies, specializing in art house, foreign and independent feature films and documentaries. It is also home to some of the very best films made in Canada (Deepa Mehta’s Water, Sarah Polley’s Away from Her, Mark Achbar’s The Corporation, Michael McGowan’s One Week). Among its international films are several Palme d’Or and Academy Award winners, L’enfant by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Palme D’Or 2006); 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days by Cristian Mungiu (Palme d’Or 2007); Entre Le Murs/The Class by Laurent Cantet (Palme d’Or 2008);Nowhere in Africa (Oscar 2003); Lives of Others (Oscar 2007); The Counterfeiters(Oscar 2008);The Secret in Their Eyes (Oscar 2010); and In a Better World (Oscar 2011) Since 2001, Mongrel Media has exclusively distributed films in Canada by Sony Pictures Classics. Participant Media is an entertainment company that focuses on documentary and narrative feature films, television, publishing and digital content about the real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates social action and advocacy programs to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant’s online Social Action Network is TakePart. Founded by Chairman Jeff Skoll in 2004, Jim Berk serves as CEO and Ricky Strauss as President. Participant’s films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Visitor, Food, Inc., The Cove, The Crazies, Countdown to Zero, Waiting for “Superman,” Fair Game, The Beaver and PAGE ONE: Inside The New York Times.