Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Mark Cousins’ “The Story of Documentary Film,” a 16-volume historical past of the medium that examines over a century of world nonfiction cinema.
Along with the North American deal, the movie has offered internationally to I Marvel (Italy), Filmin (Spain and Portugal), and Madman (Australia/New Zealand). Dogwoof is dealing with world gross sales rights.
“The Story of Documentary Film” made its world premiere on the 2026 Sundance Movie Competition, the place the pageant introduced chapter 1, “The Beginning.” The movie was additionally an official choice on the 2026 Berlinale, which screened chapters 1 by 4, and most lately at Cannes Classics, which premiered chapters 6 and seven.
Kino Lorber will launch “The Story of Documentary Film” on all platforms later this yr.
Lisa Schwartz, chief distribution and income officer for Kino Lorber mentioned, “Documentary filmmakers have captured the reality of our times since the earliest days of cinema, and celebrating and elevating their work feels more important than ever in our current era of fake news and manipulated imagery.”
“The Story of Documentary Film” is produced by John Archer for Hopscotch Movies. The movie is government produced by Clara Glynn, Joslyn Barnes, Frank Lehmann and Diana Bustamente.
The deal for “The Story of Documentary Film” was negotiated by Kino Lorber VP of acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer and Cleo Veger of Dogwoof forward of the movie’s Cannes Classics premiere.
