Tartan Video U.S.A., the domestic division of U.K.-based arthouse distributor Tartan Films, shuttered operations on June 1 and auctioned its approximately 100-film library, including OldBoy, Lady Vengeance and A Tale of Two Sisters. Film print and advertising financing company Palisades Media Corp. bought the U.S. rights to the catalog, according to Video Business. Read on for full details.
Palisades created Palisades Tartan Film Acquisitions to house its new library. The unit intends to redistribute titles into the North American marketplace shortly, and is considering former Tartan U.S.A. employees to staff its operations. No hires have been made yet, but the unit expects to have a team in place by July 1, executives said.

Tartan Films owner Hamish McAlpine decided to close the U.S. unit because of financial struggles within the company, according to sources. Spokesman Paul Smith confirmed the U.S. division’s closure, but he declined to specify underlying reasons.

About 10 Tartan U.S.A. employees lost their jobs as the division was dismantled.

Ken Burns, Palisades co-manager, said the company wants to improve the promotion of Tartan titles.

Tartan films are distributed through Genius Products, which juggles many distributed DVD lines, most notably The Weinstein Company’s theatrical films.

“We want to get Tartan back to where it was a few years ago,” said Burns. Titles “have not being properly marketed or presented for a significant amount of time.”

Tartan U.S.A. has not launched new products in 2008. Its last 2007 titles were the Nov. 6 releases of OldBoy on Blu-ray Disc and Johnnie To-directed Election on standard DVD.

At this point, certain Tartan titles are still available at retail, including standard DVD and Blu-ray versions of OldBoy at Amazon.com.

Tartan Films continues to control the U.K. distribution rights for several titles in the U.S. library, including OldBoy, Lady Vengeance and A Tale of Two Sisters.