‘Humayo’ finds US distributor

Charo Santos-Concio (left) and John Lloyd Cruz in “Ang Babaeng Humayo”

Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz’s “Ang Babaeng Humayo” inks an “all-rights” deal with a distributor for the North American market, Kino Lorber—considered “a new leader in distributing the finest art-house and international films.”

Topbilled by returning veteran actress Charo Santos-Concio, “Humayo” won the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice International Film Festival last September.

According to its site, Kino Lorber Inc. “offers the best in contemporary, classic and documentary films that aim to engage, provoke, stimulate and entertain today’s audiences.”

Kino Lorber is the distributor of the Oscar-nominated documentary, Gianfranco Rossi’s “Fire at Sea.”

The New York-based distribution company recently acquired all North American rights to another Venice winner, Stéphane Brizé’s “A Woman’s Life,” which bagged the Fipresci prize last year.

Both Diaz and Brizé’s films were recently screened at the Film Comment Selects Series, mounted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York. According to the firm’s site, “Ang Babaeng Humayo” and “A Woman’s Life” are set to have “theatrical runs starting in May in New York City before expanding to other cities all over the United States.”

Kino Lorber boasts more than 1,000 titles in its library and releases over 25 films per year theatrically. In the last seven years, Kino Lorber has released at least five Oscar-nominated films.—BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.