I'm not sure what Wellspring Media paid for Tarnation, the 218 dollar film which most definitely was their most profitable title with half a million dollar take at the box office, but if they were up and running today, you'd be sure that they would be among the more interested parties in getting the distribution rights for Jonathan Caouette's second docu-outing.

HBO Documentary Films have picked up the North American TV rights to Scorsese's latest rock 'n' roll project, George Harrison: Living in the Material World. It seems very likely that the film will see it's world premiere at the TIFF come September, but its television debut is scheduled to run in two parts on October 5th and 6th, exclusively on HBO.

After playing extremely well before Sundance Film Festival audiences, someone (Tribeca Films) has finally made the no-brainer picked up of Matthew Bate's docu-tragicomedy Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure. A VOD and theatre August 26th/September expanded release is planned -- I'm betting it'll mimic the viral/cult success that the phenomenon had when it was in its "audio form".

Samuel Goldwyn Films are hoping to stir up the pot during the politico season, picking up Ami Horowitz and Matthew Groff’s UN, Me and setting it for a September release. Like any large-bodied institution, the UN is a governing body where politics have notoriously hindered efforts by often coming late to the party...and by party we mean genocides, huge scale human rights abuses and violations.

The Tribeca Film Festival in the Big Apple is currently in full swing, and many filmmakers are hoping to strike a distribution deal following the premiere of their labor of love. Another film picked up this week was Klitschko, a German documentary, by Sebastian Dehnhardt, about Vitaly and Vladimir Klitschko, a pair of World Champion boxing brothers.

In one of those happenings that is so (in)appropriate that it's downright poetic, the Weinstein Company has gained North American distribution rights to The Bully Project, a documentary by Lee Hirsch (2002 Sundance winner for Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony) about the repercussions of controlling, pushy, and oppressive behaviour.

Last year at Cannes, director, and then jury member, Shekhar Kapur had a conversation about the importance of Bollywood, and its binding cultural impact on India itself as well as its portrayal of India to the rest of the world. The conversation sparked what became Bollywood – The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.

Just days after Magnolia Pictures inked a deal to release Jiro Dreams Of Sushi, which is also making its world premier at the Tribeca Film Fest this week, they have also picked up Limelight, a new documentary by Billy Corben that tells the story of the former New York City club kingpin, Peter Gatien.

Red Flag Releasing, a global distribution upstart helmed by Paul Federbush, Laura Kim, both former Warner Independent Picture executives, and Ron Stein, a financier and producer on The Kids Are All Right, have picked up We Were Here for their second theatrical release after last year’s 8: The Mormon Proposition.

Despite news that Mark Cuban has put Magnolia Pictures up for sale, it seems everything is business as usual at the independent distribution company. They announced yesterday that they have picked up David Gelb's hunger inducing Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which will make its North American debut next week at the Tribeca Film Fest. It premiered at Berlinale earlier this year in the Culinary Cinema section.

Earlier today photographer Andre Liohn reported via Facebook that Tim Hetherington, a British journalist and co-director of Restrepo, has been killed along with fellow Pulitzer Prize nominated photographer Chris Hondros in Mirata, Libya, during a conflict between Muammar Gaddafi’s soldiers and Libyan rebel forces.

The 3D documentary written and directed by Wenders, explores the work of legendary dancer and groundbreaking choreographer Pina Bausch (who passed away suddenly when the film was in pre-production back in 2009). Sundance Selects has acquired the U.S. rights to the Pina and this should come out a little after its planned European releases.

It terms of acquisitions, this Sundance Film Fest was one of the better ones in terms of volume (number of titles sold, not necessarily dollar amount) actually it was such a great fest that we've kind of forgotten that not all titles found a suitor.

After the Sundance pick-up of POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Sony Pictures Classics have nabbed their second documentary film from Park City in Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest.

Sometime in 2004 Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation made me crawl in a ball and not want to visit the outside world for a good week (read my 4.5 out of 5 star review). Round two is coming soon. Part of Wild Bunch's sales slate, the experimental-documentary film titled Cloudbusters (which I imagine is related to what you might do on a road trip) might be ready in time for a return to the Croisette (Tarnation was part of the Directors' Fortnight sidebar).

Honest Man, a film by James Dirschbeger, takes Dwyer’s story and expands it beyond his notoriety, to look at a modest man who only wanted the best for his state, yet may have been too trusting of nefarious influences.

I'm not sure how this compares to previous years, but there are several pre-Sundance festival deals being announced including this docu-film pick-up. Looking to get into more involved in the theatrical release not just video/broadcast portion of the business, HBO have taken all U.S. rights to James Marsh's Project Nim - the opening docu film for this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Canadian cinematographer Thomas Burstyn makes his feature debut as a director along with his wife Sumner as his writer and producer with this lush documentary set in New Zealand's rugged Ruahine Mountains. This Way of Life is about the Karena family -- a family that would make plenty others envious.

IFC Films' TIFF shopping might not be complete, as the distrib picked up the rights to Pierre Thorentton's Yves Saint Laurent: L’Amour Fou. The French language docu on the fashion icon received it's world premiere screening last September at TIFF and will be released theatrically sometime next year.

Lynn Hershman's 40 years in the making docu which I missed at TIFF this year, has not only been acquired by Zeitgeist Films and is set with a June release date, but !Women Art Revolution will have a further festival date in the U.S premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The mention of this being at Sundance is good news, because it may also confirm this Sundance forecast of mine, that Miranda July who is among the artists featured in this doc film, will undoubtably premiere her sophomore film, The Future.