Days after the film was pulled from Sundance over a dispute between Participant Media and director Kahlil Joseph, James Shani’s Rich Spirit banner has acquired “Blknws: Terms & Conditions,” according to an insider with knowledge of the project.
The sale comes after Participant pulled the indie film from screenings scheduled for Sundance over an alleged “secret” cut made by Joseph without the company’s knowledge. Participant, the studio behind films like “Spotlight” and “Green Book,” was the primary producer of “Blknws: Terms & Conditions” and owned the copyright to the film after formally shuttering last April.
Prior to Participant, A24 previously backed the film as a co-financier and distributor, but bailed last summer after Joseph failed to deliver a final cut.
Shani is best known as one of the executive producers on the Oscar-nominated “The Apprentice” through his Rich Spirit banner, which led the group that bought out Kinematics, backed by Dan Snyder, in acquiring the controversial film directed by Ali Abbasi, as TheWrap has previously reported. The move paved the way for “The Apprentice” to finally secure U.S. distribution after Snyder, a staunch conservative, wanted out of the movie.
“Blknws: Terms & Conditions” will have its world premiere at Sundance and Shani hopes to find a distributor.
The movie, which was written, directed and produced by Joseph, follows a West African curator and scholar whose magnum opus leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey “that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time,” according to the official synopsis in the Sundance program.
Director Kahlil Joseph and producer Onye Anyanwu thanked Participant in a statement obtained by Variety, which first reported the news.
This film would not have made it to Sundance without the early support and belief of A24 and Participant. Their faith in our vision from the very beginning was instrumental in bringing this project to life.
We are deeply grateful for their willingness to relinquish ownership of the film, a gesture that allows audiences to finally experience what we’ve spent years crafting alongside so many contributing artists. This moment has been a long time coming, and we are thrilled to finally share this with the world.
We look forward to welcoming audiences to the film’s debut and are excited to begin this next chapter for BLKNWS.
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