Kino Lorber Acquires North American Rights To Tribeca Film Festival Winner “Keep The Change”
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- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Sunday, 21 January 2018 18:44
Kino Lorber has acquired all North American rights to the romantic comedy KEEP THE CHANGE, written and directed by Rachel Israel. The film stars newcomers Brandon Polansky (as David) and Samantha Elisofon (as Sarah), and centers on their unexpected encounter and romance.
Jessica Walter (Arrested Development, Archer), Tibor Feldman (The Devil Wears Prada), Sondra James (Royal Pains), and Johnathan Tchaikovsky (The Wolf of Wall Street) round up the cast. The film was produced by Summer Shelton, Todd Remis, and Kurt Enger with Anne Hubbell, Amy Hobby, Philip Ruedi and Laura Staich as executive producers.
KEEP THE CHANGE premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won two of the festival’s most coveted awards: Best U.S. Narrative Feature and Best New Narrative Director. It also received Special Mention for the Nora Ephron Prize. At last summer’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the film won the Best Debut and FIPRESCI awards.
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While David struggles to come to terms with his own high-functioning autism, he unexpectedly falls for Sarah, a quirky and outgoing woman whose lust for life both irks and fascinates him. As David and Sarah’s relationship evolves, KEEP THE CHANGE blossoms into a refreshingly off-kilter story about the ups-and-downs of romantic love – and the rewards of acceptance, self-love and mutual trust.
Painting an honest portrait of a community seldom depicted on the big screen, KEEP THE CHANGE is based on the award-winning short film developed by Rachel Israel and lead actor Brandon Polansky that was inspired by Polansky’s experiences at Adaptations, a community for adults on the autism spectrum that meets at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Manhattan. Film Director Rachel Israel cast KEEP THE CHANGE with non-professional actors from Adaptations, and she worked closely with them to create fictional versions of themselves for the film.
KEEP THE CHANGE opens in New York on March 16, following its prominent berth as opening night feature of the 2018 ReelAbilities Film Festival in March. A national expansion will follow. The deal was negotiated between Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell and Cinetic’s Jason Ishikawa.
Director Rachel Israel wrote in a prepared statement: “KEEP THE CHANGE has been a labor of love for all involved, from our cast to our crew, our producers, and our community partners at the JCC's Center for Special Needs. We made a unique, risk-taking film and it is wonderful to see it come to light on the big screen. We are absolutely thrilled to be partnered with Kino Lorber, and to have their exceptional taste and reputation behind the film.”
Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell wrote in a prepared statement: “KEEP THE CHANGE tickled my heart and my funny bone in equal measure. It’s a film that embraces everyone in our great big sprawling human family, and I think that spirit may be just what Americans need and want right now. We look forward to tickling hearts and funny bones all over the country.”
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BIOS: RACHEL ISRAEL (Writer/Director)
Rachel received her BFA with Honors from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA with Honors from Columbia University. Rachel lives in NYC and is an adjunct professor of film at Rhode Island School of Design. She was an associate producer on Violet & Daisy (2011) starring James Gandolfini and Saoirse Ronan, and has directed numerous short films that have screened at Festivals such as Slamdance, Rooftop and Florida Film Festivals.
BRANDON POLANSKY (David Cohen)
Brandon met writer/director Rachel Israel in 2002 at a live model drawing class at Florida Atlantic University, where they became good friends. Their creative collaboration began in 2011 when they began to develop the story for the short film version of Keep the Change, loosely based on Brandon’s personal romantic experiences at a community for adults on the autism spectrum, Adaptations at the JCC in Manhattan. In addition to being an actor, Brandon is also an experimental filmmaker whose work deals with personal identity.
SAMANTHA ELISOFON (Sarah Silverstein)
Samantha made her film debut in the 2013 short film, Keep the Change, also written and directed by Rachel Israel. Samantha is a graduate of Pace University and is also the subject of the recently published book My Picture Perfect Family: What Happens When One Twin Has Autism (Author: Marguerite Elisofon, 2016), which has been profiled in the online publications for the New York Post and Time Magazine. Not just an actor, Samantha was an instrumental collaborator in the development of her character in the feature length version of Keep the Change. She resides in New York City and is a member of the Adaptations program at the JCC Manhattan and the EPIC Players Theater Company.
ABOUT KINO LORBER:
With a library of 1,600 titles, Kino Lorber Inc. has been a leader in independent art house distribution for over 30 years, releasing over 25 films per year theatrically under its Kino Lorber, Kino Classics, and Alive Mind Cinema banners, with six Academy Award® nominated films in the last eight years, including last year’s nominated documentary FIRE AT SEA, directed by Gianfranco Rosi. In addition, the company brings over 250 titles each year to the home entertainment market through physical and digital media releases under its five house brands. It also now distributes a growing number of third party labels in all ancillary media and is a direct digital distributor to all major digital platforms including iTunes, Netflix, HULU, Filmstruck, Tribeca Shortlist, Amazon, Vimeo, VHX, Fandor, Mubi and Others.
