IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors of independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Gaspar Noé’s ENTER THE VOID in advance of its upcoming U.S. premiere at Sundance in the Spotlight section. A surrealist drama about a drug-dealing teen killed in Japan, after which he reappears as a ghost to watch over his sister, ENTER THE VOID is a provocative yet contemplative exploration of life, death and sexuality


Noé’s follow-up to the 2002 award-winning and controversial film IRREVERSIBLE, ENTER THE VOID premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was also featured at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival. The film stars newcomers Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta (THE LIMITS OF CONTROL) and Cyril Roy.


IFC Films will release ENTER THE VOID in 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings critically-acclaimed independent movies to on-demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.


The deal for ENTER THE VOID was negotiated by Arianna Bocco from IFC Films with Carole Baraton of Wild Bunch.


Loosely inspired by the TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, ENTER THE VOID centers on Oscar and his sister Linda, recent arrivals in Tokyo. Oscar is a small time drug dealer, and Linda works as a nightclub stripper. One night, Oscar is caught up in a police bust and shot. As he lies dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise he made his sister - that he would never abandon her - refuses to abandon the world of the living. His spirit wanders through the city, his visions growing evermore distorted, evermore nightmarish. Past, present and future merge in a hallucinatory maelstrom.


Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, “ENTER THE VOID is an experience that is almost impossible to describe. Gaspar Noe is at the peak of his filmmaking powers with this film that is destined to become a cult classic. The entire team is thrilled to be working on this film and with Gaspar. It’s the perfect film for all of our platforms.”


Franco-Argentine filmmaker Gaspar Noé made his first film in 1991 with the short CARNE, an introduction to the character of the Butcher, played by Philippe Nahon. An angry man, the Butcher seeks revenge on whoever hurt his disabled daughter. After working as an actor, cinematographer, writer, and director on some other projects, Noé made his first feature film, I STAND ALONE, continuing the story of the Butcher after he does time in jail and abandons his daughter. In 2002, he made IRREVERSIBLE starring real-life married couple Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.