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Teddy Leifer Talks Busy 20th Anniversary Year For Rise Films With Three Pictures On Release & Freshly Announced Venice Debut
Teddy Leifer's London-based documentary production company Rise Films is marking its 20th anniversary with a particularly busy year, including three films on release and a first-ever selection at the Venice Film Festival. Erik Shirai's Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing, an ESPN presentation exploring the hidden world of Japanese sumo wrestling, has been chosen for Venice's Venezia Spotlight section at the festival's 83rd edition in September, marking a milestone for the company after previous successes at Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, IDFA and Tribeca.
Alongside the Venice news, Rise Films has The Balloonists now in UK cinemas via Dogwoof, Teenage Wasteland (Middletown) launching on Netflix on 4 September, and Nuisance Bear releasing this autumn following its acquisition by Mubi in May. Leifer noted the cluster of releases reflects years of development, with Teenage Wasteland alone taking around eight years to reach screens. Rise Films was founded in 2006 with We Are Together, a film about an AIDS orphanage choir in South Africa, which Leifer began producing as a student at Arts University Bournemouth alongside director Paul W. Taylor.
In short
- Rise Films marks 20th anniversary with Venice Film Festival debut
- Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing selected for Venezia Spotlight section
- Three other Rise Films documentaries also releasing this year
Explained simply
Rise Films is a London-based documentary production company established in 2006 by Teddy Leifer. The company specialises in feature-length documentaries.
Leifer founded the company whilst a student at Arts University Bournemouth, after producing a documentary about an AIDS orphanage choir in South Africa. In the two decades since, Rise Films documentaries have been selected for many of the world's leading film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, IDFA and Tribeca.
Documentary production typically requires substantial development time, with projects often taking years to move from conception to public release. Rise Films' films reach audiences through multiple channels, including theatrical releases, streaming services and specialist distributors.
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