Gravitas Ventures, a leading Video on Demand (VOD) distributor of independent content, has inked a two-picture deal with Lux Digital Pictures Inc. to help bring two highly anticipated documentaries to North American audiences. American Grindhouse will make its world premiere bowing at the coveted first Saturday night slot during the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival on March 13, 2010 at the Alamo Ritz II. In June, American Grindhouse will debut across North America on VOD through Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.
“For those who can’t make it to Austin, we are excited that American Grindhouse (www.americangrindhouse.com) can be made available in over 50 million homes this summer through our distribution agreement with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution,” said Nolan Gallagher CEO and founder of Gravitas Ventures. “As a company we’ll license over 350 films this year, but given the appetite of genre fans, we were so enthusiastic after seeing American Grindhouse that we wanted to make sure we acquired it before its world premiere.”

American Grindhouse is a feature-length documentary that explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment. Exploitation Cinema has left an indelible mark on American culture, and this informative and amusing documentary proves that its principles – and popularity – endure to this day.

Ingo Jucht, CEO, of Lux Digital Pictures said, “We turned to Gravitas to exploit these films on VOD because we believe that they are the best independent distributor operating in this space and we know they could deliver the widest and best audience for our films. We’re excited to be in business with Gravitas and we are looking forward to a great release, for both Grindhouse and Nightmares, this summer.”

Just in time for Independence Day, Nightmares in Red White and Blue will debut nation-wide on VOD. Nightmares has recently been featured at a number of noteworthy international film festivals, including Deauville, Sitges and Athens and, Fangoria has called it, “…the best documentary of its kind in years!” The film is based upon the book by the same title and tells the story of the evolution and history of the American horror film through interviews with prominent filmmakers, historian, film critics and others. It includes historical footage and film clips of the best and most famous and infamous horror motion pictures ever produced. Interviewees include, John Carpenter, Joe Dante, George Romero, Wes Craven, Darren Lynn Bousman, Roger Corman and many others (www.nightmaresinredwhiteandblue.com).

Gravitas Ventures and Lux Digital will market American Grindhouse and Nightmares in Red White and Blue via major horror publications, fan sites, blogs and social networking sites and other traditional media to raise awareness for the films.