Indie Film Power Players Pool Millions Behind New Movie Distributor 1-2 Special

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The indie film world is betting on 1-2 Special.

1-2, the recently established U.S. movie distributor, has successfully completed its initial round of equity financing. This funding comes from a team of private investors headed by Alex Lo’s Cinema Inutile, along with Anita Gou’s Kindred Spirit, Chris Quintos Cathcart and Tyler Boehm’s Unapologetic Projects, and Bill and Mary Way’s Fit Via Vi. These investors are based in New York City.

1-2 Special was established by ex-Sideshow executive Jason Hellerstein in February and operates as a distributor primarily focused on theatrical releases, aiming to acquire and distribute outstanding films from prestigious domestic and international film festivals. The company secured its first feature, Kontinental ’25, directed by renowned Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude (Bad Luck Banging, Or Looney Porn), at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. With a significant amount of private equity funding, it’s anticipated that 1-2 will be an active buyer during the Cannes festival.

The company has made some notable additions to its executive team. They’ve appointed Amanda Trokan as Senior Vice President for Acquisitions and Nico Chapin as Vice President for Public Relations.

At Sideshow, Hellerstein was instrumental in brokering acquisitions and promoting groundbreaking international films like “Drive My Car,” “EO,” “All That Breathes,” “All We Imagine as Light,” and “Flow.” These titles garnered a combined 8 Academy Award nominations, winning 2 Oscars, and amassing over $11 million in domestic box office earnings.

1- As a gamer, I’d say it like this: “Special’s backers have dropped some tantalizing hints about the kind of movies we might see in the future. I’m thrilled to be part of Cinema Inutile, which is collaborating on Shih-Ching Tsou’s entry for Cannes Critics Week, Left-Handed Girl, co-written and edited by Sean Baker. Plus, Alessio Rigo de Righi’s film, Heads or Tails?, screening in Un Certain Regard this year. I can’t wait for Ruben Östlund’s The Entertainment System is Down and Jim Jarmusch’s Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, which are also on the horizon.

Recently, Kindred Spirit has been involved in producing films such as Andrew Ahn’s contemporary adaptation of Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet,” released by Bleecker Street in April. The company also played a role in the success of Lulu Wang’s 2019 hit “The Farewell,” which earned over $17 million at the domestic box office for A24.

Unapologetic Productions kicked off their filmmaking journey with the debut of “Didi”, a film distributed by Focus Features. This movie won the Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and received two Spirit Awards. Additionally, the company collaborated on the financing for the Tribeca festival feature film titled “All That We Love“, directed by Yen Tan and starring Margaret Cho and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Lately, the Fit Via Vi team has been involved in several notable projects. These include the Oscar-nominated documentary titled “Sugarcane”, the HBO film “Reality” featuring Sydney Sweeney, which won a Peabody award, the drama “Rebuilding” starring Josh O’Connor (recently acquired by Bleecker), and Paul Schrader’s film “Oh, Canada” with Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, and Uma Thurman.

1-2 Special is represented by David Manella and Megan Stombock at Loeb & Loeb.

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2025-05-12 17:32