In their first major deal since forming a new distribution partnership last month, 108 Media and Paladin have acquired all North American rights to Michel Gondry’s latest film, THE WE AND THE I, it was today announced by 108 CEO Abhi Rastogi and Paladin President Mark Urman. The film, which was the opening night presentation at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes this May, is making its North American premiere at the current Toronto International Film Festival. An early March opening in New York and Toronto is planned, with expansion into multiple major markets to follow.
Set on the last day of the school year, THE WE AND THE I follows a group of Bronx high schoolers who board a city bus on their way home. With summer break ahead of them, and feeling more liberated than usual, this broad array of kids–the cool ones, the outsiders, and everyone in between–act out as only teenagers can and, in the course of one afternoon, their friendships, rivalries, ambitions, and anxieties are revealed. Gondry workshopped the project with students at a neighborhood after-school arts program in the Bronx, and his large ensemble cast, all of them first-timers, essentially play themselves, though the script (which Gondry wrote with Jeffrey Grimshaw and Paul Proch) artfully creates a fully formed vision of the life these kids live and the future that awaits them. Though set almost entirely on the bus, Gondry enlarges the film’s visual canvas with mobile phone videos, text messages, and a series of trompe l’oeil effects executed with his customary flair and inventiveness.
About the deal, Urman says, “we are honored and thrilled to be working with Michel Gondry and his team on this totally one-of-a-kind film. Rarely have I seen the energy, anarchy, and enthusiasm of teenagers rendered with so much authenticity and accuracy and with so little moralizing or condescension.” Rastogi adds, “this is exactly the kind of film we are looking to distribute–one that combines excellence with entertainment value, and a fresh, distinctive point of view.” Gregoire Melin of Kinology, who are selling international rights to the film, says, “I’m very happy and proud to team up with Mark Urman, whom I’ve known for years and who is one of the North American distributors I respect most, on what is certainly Gondry’s most compelling work to-date.”