Long Distance Revolutionary Nabs US Distribution Including Theatrical Release

Written by Stephen Vittoria
(Los Angeles)

Street Legal Cinema is proud to announce that the historic and fiercely independent New York distribution company, First Run Features, has acquired all U.S. domestic distribution rights to my new film “LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal” and will release the documentary in theatres in early 2013.

First Run was founded in 1979 and the company’s legacy includes films by great filmmakers like Spike Lee, Michael Apted, Rose Troche, Jane Campion, Barbara Kopple, Peter Jackson, Sven Nykvist, and David O. Russell. No doubt, First Run is a survivor in a difficult marketplace. In fact, they’ve even survived FBI probes for distributing content that the US Government considered a threat. Instead, the US Government should probe itself as an ongoing threat to the planet – start with the White House and the corrupt swine on Wall Street. Joe McCarthy still runs through the veins of these-- Anyway, I digress…

In August of 2009, for their 30th Anniversary, First Run was honored with a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, which the Film Society of Lincoln Center wrote: “First Run Features has been at the forefront of companies that take the risk of distributing previously unreleased films. It takes remarkable courage to distribute cutting-edge and sometimes controversial works that they believe should and must be seen.”

First Run distributed my last feature “One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern.”

Stay tuned for updates on LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY. First Run plans a great release across the country, followed of course by video on demand, home video, broadcast, and so forth – getting Mumia’s story of courage and beauty to as many hearts and minds as possible. Or as the old Hollywood adage goes: “Let’s put as many asses in the seats as possible.” Check out this teaser.