“Much Ado About Dying,” Scott Chamber’s documentary about elderly care that won the best directing award at IDFA in 2022, has been acquired by First Run Features for the U.S. and Canada.
The feature, produced by Soilsiú Films and Tiffin Films, will have its U.S. festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival ahead of a national theatrical release set to launch at New York’s Film Forum on March 15.
Chambers’ third feature-length documentary, “Much Ado About Dying” deals with the issue of caring for elderly and dying relatives. Producers describe the film as “poignant and moving, but also hilariously funny,” following Chambers as he get very close to his dying uncle, a retired gay actor who still wants to perform “King Lear” before it’s too late. The director’s previous films, “Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears” and “Cowboys in India,” both toured the festival circuit extensively before broadcast outings in the U.K. on BBC Storyville and Channel 4 respectively.
“We are delighted to be working with Marc Mauceri and his team at First Run Features,” said Soilsiú Films’ David Rane, who distributed Soilsiú’s previous title, “Young Plato,” directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin and Declan McGrath.
“It’s a challenge these days to get an arthouse documentary out into U.S. cinemas, even one as charming and funny as ‘Much Ado About Dying,’ and we appreciate the motivation and commitment of the teams at First Run Features and Film Forum in releasing Simon’s beautifully directed film. This film deserves to be seen on the big screen, and there’s no better team to put it there.”
New York-based First Run, well-known for its 45-year history in the indie distribution world, has previously released four editions of Michael Apted’s “Up” Series (“28 Up,” “42 Up,” “49 Up” and “56 Up”) as well as the “Quiet Epidemic,” “Before Stonewall,” “Scrap” and “The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg.”
“’Much Ado About Dying’ is a moving and hilarious cinema documentary about growing old unapologetically and the often-invisible family members who care for us in our twilight years,” said First Run’s Mauceri. “We are honoured to be entrusted by director Simon Chambers to share his uncle’s story with audiences here in the USA. Soilsiú Films are becoming more prolific by the year in producing world class documentaries for cinema and we are delighted to be working with them after the success they had in the U.S. with ‘Young Plato.’”
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