This article contains promotional content. (January 2020) |
Zeitgeist Films is a New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distributor Kino Lorber.
 Zeitgeist Films logo | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film distribution |
| Founded | June 1988 |
| Founders | Nancy Gerstman Emily Russo |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Key people | Adrian Curry |
| Website | zeitgeistfilms.com |
Zeitgeist has distributed early films by directors such as Todd Haynes, Christopher Nolan, Francois Ozon, Laura Poitras, Atom Egoyan, and the Quay Brothers. Their catalog also includes filmmakers such as Marguerite von Trotta, Ken Loach, Guy Maddin, Derek Jarman, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Greenaway, Yvonne Rainer, Andrei Zyvagintsev, Astra Taylor, and Raoul Peck. Previous Zeitgeist Films releases in association with Kino Lorber include Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You, Ric Burns’ Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, and M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity.
Five Zeitgeist films have been nominated for Academy Awards, of which Nowhere in Africa (2001) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[1] Their films have been featured in various film festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Tribeca, and IDFA in Amsterdam. The Museum of Modern Art honored Zeitgeist with a month-long, 20th anniversary retrospective of their films in 2008. Founders Russo and Gerstman received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art House Convergence in 2020.
Upcoming films
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Old Oak | Cannes Film Festival Premiere - September 2023 U.K Release Date - Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
Selected films
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Hive | November, 2021 U.S. threatrical release date-Acquired in partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2021 | In Balanchine’s Classroom | September, 2021 U.S. theatrical release date-Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2021 | Against the Current | June, 2021 U.S. theatrical release date-Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2020 | My Wonderful Wanda | April, 2020 U.S. theatrical release date-Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2020 | Beyond the Visible -- Hilma af Klint | April, 2020 U.S. theatrical release date-Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2020 | Sorry We Missed You | March, 2020 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2020 | The Woman Who Loves Giraffes | January, 2020 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2019 | Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project | November, 2019 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2019 | Zen for Nothing | June, 2019 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2019 | The Garden (re-release) | May, 2019 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2019 | Working Woman | March, 2019 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2019 | What Is Democracy? | January, 2019 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2018 | Studio 54 | October, 2018 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2018 | Love, Cecil | June, 2018 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2018 | The Doctor from India | June, 2018 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2017 | Bombshell | November, 2017 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2017 | The Divine Order | October, 2017 U.S. theatrical release date—Acquired in Partnership with Kino Lorber |
| 2017 | Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story | April, 2017 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | Old Stone | November, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | Don't Call Me Son | November, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | Innsaei | October, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | Call Her Applebroog | June, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | Eva Hesse | April, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt | April, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2016 | A Space Program | March, 2016 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2015 | My Friend Victoria | December, 2015 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2015 | Court | July, 2015 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2015 | Every Last Child | June, 2015 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2015 | Forbidden Films | May, 2015 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2014 | Zero Motivation | December, 2014 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2014 | Diplomacy | October, 2014 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2014 | Rocks in My Pockets | September, 2014 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2014 | Siddharth | June, 2014 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2014 | The Galapagos Affair | April, 2014 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2014 | Child's Pose | February, 2014 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2013 | The Pervert's Guide to Ideology | November, 2013 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2013 | Let the Fire Burn | October, 2013 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2013 | Hannah Arendt | May 29, 2013 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2013 | One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das | May 8, 2013 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2012 | Uprising | December, 2012 U.S. premiere and Golden Eagle winner at CINE competition |
| 2012 | Let My People Go! | January 11, 2013 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2012 | Koch | October 8, 2012 premiere at Hamptons International Film Festival, U.S. release in February 2013 |
| 2012 | Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters | October 31, 2012 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2012 | Elena | May 16, 2012 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2012 | The Salt of Life | March 2, 2012 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2012 | China Heavyweight | January 20, 2012 premiere at Sundance Film Festival |
| 2012 | Payback | January 20, 2012 premiere at Sundance Film Festival, U.S. release in April 2012 |
| 2011 | Something Ventured | Premiered April 24, 2011 at the San Francisco International Film Festival |
| 2011 | Paul Goodman Changed My Life | October 19, 2011 U.S. theatrical release date |
| 2011 | The Tree | 2010 Cannes Film Festival Closing Night Film, Premiered at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival |
| 2011 | !Women Art Revolution | Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival Official Selection, Berlin International Film Festival Official Selection |
| 2011 | Queen to Play | Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection, Palm Springs International Film Festival Special Mention for John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature |
| 2011 | Bill Cunningham New York | New Directors/New Films Festival Official Selection, Sydney Film Festival Best Documentary Film |
| 2010 | Vision | Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection |
| 2010 | Last Train Home | Sundance Film Festival Official Selection |
| 2010 | Mid-August Lunch | Venice Film Festival Best First Film, Best Italian Film Award. London Film Festival Satyajit Ray Award |
| 2010 | The Oath | Sundance Film Festival Best Cinematography Award: US Documentary, Berlin International Film Festival Official Selection |
| 2009 | A Town Called Panic | Cannes Film Festival Official Selection, Fantastic Festival Audience Award |
| 2009 | Act of God | Hot Docs Opening Night Gala |
| 2009 | Earth Days | Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Film |
| 2009 | The Horse Boy | Winner South by Southwest Audience Award |
| 2009 | The Sun Behind the Clouds | Winner Palm Springs International Film Festival Best of the Fest award |
| 2009 | Afghan Star | Sundance Film Festival People's Choice Award (the World Cinema Audience Award for a Documentary) and Best Director for a Documentary (the World Cinema Directing Award) |
| 2008 | Trouble the Water | Academy Award for Documentary Feature nominee |
| 2008 | Tulpan | Kazakhstan's Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2008 | Three Monkeys | Turkey's Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Best Director Award Cannes Film Festival 2008 |
| 2008 | Harlan – In the Shadow of Jew Süss | |
| 2008 | Fados | |
| 2008 | Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine | |
| 2008 | Examined Life | directed by Astra Taylor, featuring Cornel West, |
| 2008 | Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains | |
| 2008 | Up the Yangtze | 2008 Best Feature Documentary San Francisco International Film Festival, 2009 Canadian Oscar Genie Award for Best Documentary, and 2008 Asian Oscar Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for Best Documentary. |
| 2007 | Jellyfish | Camera d’Or |
| 2007 | Chris & Don: A Love Story | |
| 2007 | Billy the Kid | Winner South by Southwest Jury Prize |
| 2006 | Manufactured Landscapes | |
| 2006 | Into Great Silence | Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize |
| 2006 | My Country, My Country | documentary about Iraq under U.S. occupation by Laura Poitras |
| 2005 | Sophie Scholl – The Final Days | Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nominee |
| 2005 | Ballets Russes | |
| 2004 | The Corporation | |
| 2002 | Derrida | San Francisco Film Festival Golden Gate Award |
| 2002 | Nowhere in Africa | Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1997 | See the Sea | |
| 1993 | Blue | Final feature film of director Derek Jarman |
| 1993 | Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media | Featuring Noam Chomsky |
| 1992 | Careful | Directed by Guy Maddin |
| 1991 | Poison | Sundance Grand Jury Prize, directed by Todd Haynes |
Awards
edit- Trouble the Water – 2008 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature
- Tulpan – Kazakhstan's 2009 Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film
- Three Monkeys – Turkey's 2009 Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film
- Into Great Silence – 2006 Sundance Special Jury Prize
- Nowhere in Africa – 2002 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Sophie Scholl – The Final Days – 2005 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film
- Taste of Cherry – 1997 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival
- Poison – 1991 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner
- The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1996 re-release) – Academy Award nominee, Palme d'Or winner (1964)