Kino Lorber Buys IDFA Winner 'A Fox Under A Pink Moon' — SkimNews
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- Kino Lorber acquired North American distribution rights to 'A Fox Under a Pink Moon,' with the deal negotiated by VP of Acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer and Catherine Leclef of CAT&Docs.
- 'A Fox Under a Pink Moon' won the top prize at IDFA last year and has since claimed awards at ZagrebDox, Docville, Tempo Documentary Festival, and Full Frame, positioning it as an Oscar contender.
- The film follows Soraya, a 16-year-old sculptor of Afghan descent born in Iran who is essentially stateless, as she tries to leave Iran and reach her mother in Europe — an effort she's pursued for five years — while escaping an abusive marriage through drawings and sculptures featuring a fox and a pink moon.
- Director Mehrdad Oskouei said he sought to confront 'a disturbing silence' around Afghan refugee women's stories in mainstream documentaries, while co-director Soraya said she wanted to 'give voice to Afghan girls whose courage, creativity, and strength shine far beyond the hardships they face.'
- David Borenstein, the Oscar-winning director of 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin,' joined as executive producer and called Oskouei and Akhlaghi's film 'electric.'
- Kino Lorber previously served as North American distributor of 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' and saw 'Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat' earn a 2025 Academy Award nomination, cementing its documentary Oscar track record.
- The release will roll out theatrically later this year before moving to digital, educational, and home video platforms.
Why it matters: Kino Lorber is staking its third consecutive documentary Oscar bid on this acquisition, pairing an IDFA-winning, cell-phone-shot survival story from a 16-year-old Afghan-Iranian artist with the team behind its 2025 Academy Award-nominated 'Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat' and last year's 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' win — a distribution pattern that shows the distributor's specialty arm punching well above its size.
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