Cinema Guild Acquires Horse Money

Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of all U.S. distribution rights to Pedro Costa's exquisite ghost story, "Horse Money." The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, where it was awarded the Best Director prize, and is an official selection of both the Toronto and New York Film Festivals. "Horse Money" will open theatrically in 2015.

Since the late '90s, Pedro Costa has devoted himself to the task of doing justice to the lives and tragedies and dreams of the Cape Verdean immigrants who once populated the now-demolished neighborhood of Fontainhas. Costa works with a minimal crew and at ground level, patiently building a unique cinematographic language alongside the men and women he has befriended. Where does his astonishing new "Horse Money" take place? In the soul-space of Ventura, who has been at the center of Costa's last few shorts and his 2006 feature "Colossal Youth." It is now, a numbing and timeless present of hospital stays, bureaucratic questioning, and wandering through remembered spaces… and it is then, the mid '70s and the time of the Carnation Revolution, when Ventura got into a knife fight with his friend Joaquim. A self-reckoning, a moving memorialization of lives in danger of being forgotten, and a great and piercingly beautiful work of cinema. (Synopsis courtesy of the New York Film Festival).

"Pedro has created an audacious and haunting masterpiece; a film that will resonate with anyone who sees it. We are honored and excited to be releasing it," commented Ryan Krivoshey. "There's a growing audience in the U.S. for smart, innovative cinema and we look forward to introducing them to this magnificent film."

Pedro Costa was born in Lisbon and studied at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School. His feature films include "O Sangue" (1989), "Casa de Lava" (1994), "Ossos" (1997), "In Vanda's Room" (2000), "Colossal Youth" (2006) and "Ne Change Rien"(2009), also distributed by Cinema Guild. "Horse Money" (2014) is his latest feature.

The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Cinema Guild with director Pedro Costa on behalf of Sociedade Optica Tecnica OPTEC Lda.