"AFTER THE MURDER OF ALBERT LIMA" ACQUIRED BY SCREEN MEDIA AS A CRACKLE ORIGINAL
Executive Produced by Gunpowder & Sky and Meredith Vieira
Produced by This Is Just A Test and Meredith Vieira Productions
New York - December 16, 2020 - Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, announced today the acquisition of all US AVOD rights to the true-crime documentary thriller AFTER THE MURDER OF ALBERT LIMA, from director and producer Aengus James (American Harmony, Scandalous.) The film will be released as a Crackle Original in the first quarter of 2021.
After The Murder of Albert Lima tells the story of a son obsessed with capturing his father's killer. After years of the legal system failing him, Paul Lima takes the unorthodox - and highly dangerous - step of hiring two bounty hunters to travel to Honduras to track down and capture his father's killer. This riveting, and at times darkly comedic, thriller explores both the importance of family and the myriad dangers of taking the law into your own hands.
The film screened in the past year at DOC NYC, Woodstock Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival and the Houston International Film Festival. After The Murder of Albert Lima is executive produced by Gunpowder & Sky's Van Toffler, Floris Bauer, and Jude Harris, and broadcast anchor, host and executive producer, Meredith Vieira. It is produced by Amy Rapp of Meredith Vieira Productions and Aengus James and Colin King Miller of This Is Just A Test.
"A man hires two bounty hunters to help him kidnap his father's killer in Honduras... what could possibly go wrong? From the beginning, this was a bad idea," said filmmaker Aengus James. "At the time we filmed this documentary, a report on NPR named Honduras the murder capital of the world; it had a case closure rate of just 2.5%. When I first met Paul (Lima), he was at a breaking point. The desperation he felt was echoed by victims' families in Honduras we spoke to. What is justice in a broken and horribly corrupt system? Is vengeance just? Paul's obsession for justice and his moral struggle with vengeance compelled me to follow him on this deeply flawed adventure."
"Screen Media is thrilled to bring this gripping documentary to our Crackle network," said Brendan Murray, Screen Media's Manager of Digital Acquisitions. "We were enthralled by the harrowing and ultimately heartwarming true story this film tells, and are certain that audiences will feel the same when they watch Paul Lima and his stranger-than-fiction journey to find justice for his father."
The deal was negotiated by Murray for Screen Media with Nik Mehta of Gunpowder & Sky on behalf of the filmmakers.
The announcement follows on the heels of Screen Media's recent acquisitions, which include the female comedy Off the Rails, Simon West's action disaster film Skyfire, and the Bella Thorne thriller Girl. In addition, Screen Media has such notable titles as: Roger Michell's Blackbird, which stars Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet and Mia Wasikowska, Jesse Quinones' MMA action film Cagefighter, featuring Gina Gershon, Jon Moxley, and Chuck Liddell, and Rod Lurie's The Outpost, which was one of the top-performing films of the summer. The company is also in post-production on Willy's Wonderland with Nicolas Cage, set to release early next year.
About Screen Media Ventures, LLC
Screen Media Ventures, LLC, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, acquires the rights to high quality, independent television series and feature films. Screen Media Ventures acquires worldwide rights for distribution through theatrical, home video, pay-per-view, free, cable and pay television, video-on-demand, and new digital media platforms. The company acquires AVOD rights for third party networks and is the main supplier of content for Crackle Plus and other Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment properties. With a library of over 1,500 television series and motion pictures, Screen Media Ventures is one of the largest independent suppliers of high-quality tv series and motion pictures to U.S. and international broadcast markets, cable networks, home video outlets and new media venues. For more information, visit: www.screenmedia.net
About Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) operates streaming video-on-demand networks (VOD). The company owns a majority stake in Crackle Plus, a company formed with Sony Pictures Television, which owns and operates a variety of ad-supported and subscription-based VOD networks including Crackle, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The company also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media subsidiary and produces original long and short-form content through Landmark Studio Group, its Chicken Soup for the Soul Originals division andAPlus.com. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.
About Crackle Plus, A Chicken Soup for the Soul Company
Crackle Plus owns and operates ad-supported VOD networks Crackle and Popcornflix and garners 50 million streams of its movies and TV shows per month, making it one of the largest AVOD streaming platforms in the U.S. Crackle Plus has over 80,000 hours of content available across all its networks, and premieres at least one original and one exclusive program each month, differentiating it from other AVODs. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) owns a majority stake in the company formed with Sony Pictures Television. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media subsidiary and produces original long and short-form content through Landmark Studio Group, its Chicken Soup for the Soul Originals division and APlus.com. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.
About Gunpowder & Sky
Gunpowder & Sky is an independent studio that creates and distributes feature films, series, short form content, podcasts and channels, bridging digital and traditional entertainment.
Since its inception in 2016, Gunpowder & Sky has released more than 30 feature films and series, more than 750 short films in theatres, on TVOD and on leading platforms such as HBO, Netflix, MTV, Hulu, Sky, Showtime, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Quibi, Audible and Discovery.
Notable films and series include 69: The Saga Of Daniel Hernandez, Her Smell, Everybody's Everything, Prospect, Sea Fever, The Little Hours, Cam, Hearts Beat Loud, Lords of Chaos, Tragedy Girls, Betting on Zero, Summer of 84, Villains, Survive, 50 States of Fright and Drawn & Recorded.
With a collective audience of more than 65M monthly unique viewers, Gunpowder & Sky also owns and operates content brands that include DUST, the number one free sci-fi channel; ALTER, a leading horror brand, and CUT, an unscripted & comedy brand that is home to the successful formats "Truth or Drink" and "Fear Pong". DUST, ALTER and CUT are presently distributed on platforms such as Apple, Amazon, Comcast, Sling, Roku, Samsung, Vizio TV, Xfinity Flex, YouTube, Facebook, AT&T, DirecTV, Sinclair, Samsung TV Plus and Instagram.
Gunpowder & Sky also recently launched its premium audio studio, and in less than one year has established a leading position in music and sci-fi, claiming #1 fiction podcast on Apple and the #1 podcast on Audible.
With offices in Los Angeles and New York, Gunpowder & Sky was founded by Van Toffler and Floris Bauer, in partnership with The Chernin Group and AT&T.
About Aengus James
AENGUS JAMES is an award winning filmmaker and television producer. His recent works include Scandalous (Magnolia, CNN, BBC), the untold story of The National Enquirer, Undercover Billionaire (Discovery), and the GLAAD Media Award-winning I Am Jazz now in season six. Aengus began his career serving as Barry Levinson's cinematographer in Poliwood. After The Murder Of Albert Lima follows Aengus' directorial debut and IDA award nominated documentary comedy American Harmony. He has created and directed content for global brands and non-profits. Aengus' work has received numerous honors including special recognition from the White House (not the current one) and the United Nations for raising awareness on issues including veterans mental health and women's healthcare around the world. Aengus is the co-founder and head of This is Just a Test.
About This is Just a Test
This is Just a Test makes content for every screen. Documentary film projects include Scandalous (Magnolia, CNN) - the untold story of the National Enquirer, the IDA nominated American Harmony (Breaking Glass), and Crestone which premiered at True False Festival earlier this year. TV projects include Undercover Billionaire (Discovery), I Am Jazz (TLC), Kentucky Ayahuasca (Viceland), Sugar & Toys (Fuse), Missing Dial (Nat Geo) and the upcoming The Rev (USA). Founded by Aengus James and Colin King Miller, this is just a test.
About Meredith Vieira Productions
Meredith Vieira Productions is a film and television production company founded by 14-time Emmy-award winning host, executive producer and anchor, Meredith Vieira, and headed by creative producer Amy Rapp. Credits include award-winning, critically-acclaimed feature documentaries TOWER and THE WOMAN WHO WASN'T THERE; RETURN, starring Linda Cardellini, Michael Shannon, and John Slattery, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; and the hit one-man show LIFE IN A MARITAL INSTITUTION, hailed by The New York Times as "never less than excellent." Upcoming projects include PARAMOUR and feature documentary AFTER THE MURDER OF ALBERT LIMA. Our sensibility is smart, sophisticated, and commercial character-driven stories.
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