The Alamo Drafthouse is a safe haven for moviegoers down south – it offers a lot of originality and spunk (and let’s not forget, Fantastic Fest). In a press release, CEO Tim League announced the launch of Drafthouse Films, the first distribution arm of the popular theater company.
League also announced that the first film to be released under the distribution arm will be “Four Lions,” a comedy about the war on terror. It sounds like a risky first feature, but if any distributor would shell out a film like this it would be the Alamo. The film will take on a 10-city promotional tour with director Chris Morris in attendance. It will be released in New York, LA, and Austin (of course) and expand across the United States the following weeks. Here’s the full synopsis of the film:
In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar (Riz Ahmed) is disillusioned about the treatment of muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj (Kayvan Novak) has ever heard. Better still it’s a no brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white islamic convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay). He’d realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism – if he had half the self knowledge of a duck. Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) is the odd man out. He can make a bomb – but he can’t blow himself up just now coz his sick dad has “started eating newspaper.” Instead he’s training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face?
Four Lions plunges us beyond seeing these young men as unfathomably alien. It undermines the folly of just wishing them away or, even worse, alienating the entire culture from which they emerge. The film is neither pro nor anti religious. The jokes fly out of the characters’ conflicts, excesses and mistakes. Crackling with wit and tension, Four Lions is the essential response to our failure to engage with reality and a high toast to the idea that laughter is better than killing.
The Playlist has always held the Alamo in high regard (who doesn’t?) and there couldn’t be a better place to release a distribution arm than Austin, Texas. We’re sure to receive many independent hits from Drafthouse Films and this will definitely garner the Texas city even more attention as the greatest city in the south. This is also great timing for such an announcement – Fantastic Fest will be happening in just a couple of weeks on September 24 in Austin, and Drafthouse Films is sure to be a hot topic throughout the festival. Trailer below. – Taylor Hertsenberg