EXCLUSIVE: Good Deed Entertainment has acquired the worldwide rights to Liza Mandelup‘s documentary feature Caterpillar, setting it for a fall theatrical release.
A followup to her documentary Jawline, which won the 2019 Special Jury Prize for Emerging Filmmaker at Sundance and whose domestic rights were later acquired by Hulu, Caterpillar had its world premiere at South by Southwest, followed by screenings at DOC NYC and the Philadelphia Film Festival.
The film follows subject David Taylor, a biracial, middle-aged queer man who, endlessly struggling to feel seen, becomes infatuated with a mysterious company’s promise to transform people’s lives by permanently changing their eye color. After traveling to India to get the controversial, non-FDA-approved procedure, he begins to question if this artificial beauty will give him the fulfillment he truly seeks. Thus, the project traces the societal implications of the deification of physical beauty, and how the international plastic surgery industry promotes these oppressive standards.
“I am thrilled to be working with Good Deed Entertainment to get this film out to the world,” Mandelup said in a statement. “Audiences at our film festival screenings have responded to David Taylor’s moving story. I am beyond excited to collaborate with a team that so clearly values original storytelling. I can’t wait for the world to see this film!”
Erik Donley, Head of Acquisitions & Distribution at GDE and its genre-focused label Cranked Up Films, added: “GDE is honored to partner with Liza Mandelup to bring Caterpillar to audiences worldwide, a film that affirms her gift for capturing cultural stories before they enter the mainstream. Caterpillar is a film you’ll want to watch again and again — I’m certain of that.”
After its premiere at SXSW, Caterpillar received positive reviews, with IndieWire writing, “[Mandelup’s] sophomore feature, Caterpillar, begins as an alluring portrait of a single subject and morphs into a surreal medical thriller about a mysterious company offering experimental cosmetic procedures.”
Meanwhile, The Austin Chronicle said of the film: “A smart, sympathetic character study with an expected style, Caterpillar examines the increasingly complicated nexus of self-esteem, marketing, body modification and technology. The movie operates on a global scale but keeps things deeply human.”
Caterpillar is produced by Jay Van Hoy, Matthew Cherchio and Mandelup, with Michael Cho, Mimi Rode, Tim Lee, Maria Zuckerman, Christine Connor, Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom, Bryn Mooser and Kathryn Everett executive producing. Benjamin Whatley is the cinematographer, Alex O’Flinn is the editor and music is spearheaded by Palmbomen II.
GDE, distributor of the Academy Award-nominated animated feature Loving Vincent (2017), is an Ohio-based independent studio dedicated to producing, financing and distributing entertainment for film, TV and other platforms. Its releases this year include Looking Through Water and An Open Door: Temple Grandin.
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