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Why U.S. Indie Distributor Utopia Is Dipping Its Toes Into U.K. Waters With ‘The Sweet East’


With 'The Sweet East,' U.S. indie label Utopia is now taking its curated campaign strategy across the Atlantic.

A surrealist satirical take on the American Dream and the directorial debut of cinematographer Sean Price Williams, “The Sweet East” — boasting an enviably red hot cast the includes Tania Ryder, Ayo Edebiri and Jacob Elordi — first bowed in the Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar to positive reviews. Greenberg cites Utopia’s growing relationships in the U.K — a territory where its previously sold features (including “Shiva Baby” and “The Scary of Sixty-First”) and seen several of its U.S. acquisitions have strong runs off the back of the domestic release (such as “Holy Spider” and “Meet Me in Bathroom”) — as being behind its decision to make the move. In early March, it held a sold-out sneak preview screening of Kim Albright’s debut feature “With Love and a Major Organ,” while it has just announced the U.K. acquisition — alongside North America — for Bruce LaBruce’s boundary-pushing and X-rated “The Visitor,” which bowed in Berlin and was presented as a conceptual installation during Frieze London.

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