Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to “Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary, which was produced by SK Global Entertainment, tells the story of Anita Pallenberg, the model and actress who rose to fame in the 1960s and ’70s after a chance encounter with the Rolling Stones.
Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill directed the docu, which features the voice of Scarlett Johansson as Anita, based on the words of her unpublished memoir. Keith Richards and his children with Pallenberg, Marlon and Angela Richards, make appearances in the film.
Magnolia plans to release “Catching Fire” next spring.
“Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg” tells the story of a woman who was described as a “rock n’ roll goddess,” a “voodoo priestess” and an “evil seductress.” She was also accused of trying to break up the Rolling Stones. But despite her tumultuous life, she was also a loving mother and fashion icon — and innocent of the accusations, the film contends.
Owen Gleiberman reviewed the film in Cannes, writing, “As filmmakers, Zill and Bloom want to celebrate everything that made Anita Pallenberg a feminine force ahead of her time. And they do. But they also show you that Anita and Keith had a complex relationship that was a crazy doom spiral.”
The docu includes never-before-seen home movies and family photographs, covering her role in “Barbarella” to her life in Switzerland, New York and London.
“To say Anita Pallenberg lived life on the edge would be a huge understatement,” said Magnolia Pictures co-CEO’s Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley. “She had a profound impact on the culture and mores of her generation. Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill have captured her complexity in an incredibly clear-eyed film that’s both exhilarating and sobering.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Eamonn, Dori and the team at Magnolia Pictures, whose roster of films about rebels and iconoclasts speaks for itself,” said Bloom and Zill. “They’re a fantastic company, and Anita would appreciate their rock ’n’ roll spirit.”
The documentary is produced by Bloom, Zill, and SK Global CEO Charlie Corwin, with executive producers Marlon Richards, Sidney Kimmel, Jo Henriquez, Brian Kornreich and Fisher Stevens.
The deal was negotiated by Cinetic Media on behalf of the filmmakers. Cinephil has acquired international rights and will bring it to buyers at the London Film Festival and Mipcom later this month.
