Connect with us

Acquisitions – Documentary Films

Participant & Samuel Goldwyn Get Schooled with “Ivory Tower”; Rossi Sundance Docu Hits Theatrically in June

School might be out for summer, but this coming June, Participant Media and Samuel Goldwyn Films are adding the student debt question to the cinephile curriculum by pairing on the theatrical release for the Sundance preemed Ivory Tower. Just like the healthcare sector reform and debate, Andrew Rossi’s docu appears to be a pocket-book pinching expose that merited an up-close examination. Paramount Home Media Distribution will take care of the film’s post theatrical life.

Gist: As tuition spirals upward and student debt passes a trillion dollars, students and parents ask, “Is college worth it?” From the halls of Harvard to public and private colleges in financial crisis to education startups in Silicon Valley, an urgent portrait emerges of a great American institution at the breaking point.

Worth Noting: This is the second collaboration between Participant Media and Rossi – they previously teamed on his third docu feature, the fascinating Page One: Inside the New York Times.

Do We Care?: THR suggest that this “presents a solid overview of an urgent problem that some claim is about to implode and others believe can be worked through with the intelligent application of fresh ideas. Inevitably, all the smart talk here will trigger much more discussion.”

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).

Click to comment

More in Acquisitions – Documentary Films

To Top