NEW YORK, NY – April 24, 2014 – Kino Lorber is proud to announce the
acquisition of all North American rights to Johannes Holzhausen’s THE GREAT
MUSEUM (Das große Museum), a critically acclaimed, observational documentary
focused on Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the most important art
institutions in the world.
The film had its international premiere at this year’s Berlin Film Festival,
where it won the coveted critic’s prize known as the Caligari award, in the
Forum section of the festival. Its US premiere is set for the upcoming San
Francisco International Film Festival, where the film will play on Saturday,
April 26 and Thursday, May 1. Other significant festivals will follow before
Kino Lorber’s national theatrical release in the fall, with THE GREAT MUSEUM
making its way to all digital platforms, the educational market and packaged
media in early 2015.
Presenting a unique behind-the-scenes look at a widely influential and multi-faceted
institution, THE GREAT MUSEUM also focuses on a number of charismatic
protagonists who work at (and maintain) the renowned art palace famed for
its Breughels and many other iconic works of art.
As the camera follows the ominous empty rooms and large storage areas
hosting some of the world’s most valuable artifacts and art works,
“Holzhausen assembles his portrait with exquisite pacing and wry humor,
perceptively laying out the subtle politics at work as the museum faces the
21st-century necessities of branding and marketing to compete for audiences
and funding.” (Jesse Dubus, SFFS)
“To be invited to share the inner life of such a monumental, world-renowned
institution makes viewing THE GREAT MUSEUM a truly thrilling and utterly
absorbing experience,” wrote Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber. “This film
demands to be savored on the big screen and I’m confident that American
audiences will even want second helpings of Vienna’s greatest art
institution, as much as they might of its delectable pastries!”