Mangurama and Bobb Films have bought U.S. and Canadian theatrical distribution rights for the documentary “Weed the People,” executive produced by Ricki Lake.
Abby Epstein, who teamed with Lake on “The Business of Being Born,” directed “Weed the People.” The film made its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Festival, was the audience award winner at the Nashville Film Festival and will have a West Coast premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Epstein and Lake said, “We are thrilled to be working with Mangurama on the theatrical release of our documentary, ‘Weed The People.’ Following in the footsteps of ‘The Business of Being Born,’ which changed the way Americans looked at childbirth, we hope that ‘Weed The People’ will humanize the controversy around medical cannabis. As our film reveals, access to this plant has become a human rights issue.”
The film focuses on several families who obtain cannabis oil from underground sources to save their children from childhood cancers and obtain positive outcomes. The filmmakers attempt to provoke the question: If weed is saving lives, why doesn’t the government want people to access it?
Abramorama principles Richard Abramowitz and Karol Martesko-Fenster said, “We are thrilled to be entrusted to engineer the North American release of ‘Weed The People’ on the eve of our midterm elections. Abby, Ricki, and the filmmaking team have captured the heartbreak of pediatric oncology and crafted a timely insiders’ perspective challenging our notions of what defines a drug versus a medicine.“
Producers are Giancarlo Canavesio and Sol Tryon. Associate producers are Andrew Epstein, Adam Vine, Mikki Willis Keegan Peterson and Kyle Sherman. Co-producer is Christian Evans and James Costa is co-executive producer.
Mangurama is a partnership between Abramorama and Canavesio’s Mangusta Productions for films that celebrate “consciousness” to the big, medium, and small screen. Mangurama’s titles include Raz Degan’s “The Last Shaman,” Tao Ruspoli’s “Monogamish,” Randall Wright’s “Summer In The Forest,” Luc Cote’s “From Shock To Awe,” and Bruce Parry’s “Tawai – A Voice From The Forest.”
Credit: variety.com
