Upstart New York distributor 1-2 Special has added another indie gem to its fast-growing slate, picking up all rights in North America to Mark Jenkin’s Rose of Nevada, one of the highlights of this year’s Venice Film Festival.
George MacKay and Callum Turner star in the eerie drama, playing fishermen in a remote village in Cornwall who board a mysterious ship that appears to be caught in a time loop. Jenkin’s third feature, following the acclaimed dramas Bait (winner of 2020 BAFTAs for outstanding debut and outstanding British film) and Enys Men (which took best sound at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards), Rose of Nevada premiered in Venice in the Horizons sidebar and had its North American debut in Toronto.
Typical for Jenkin, Rose of Nevada was shot on 16mm cameras using a wind-up Bolex with all sound constructed in post-production, with Jenkin acting as writer, director, cinematographer, and editor.
1-2 Special will release the film in theaters next year.
Launched by former Sideshow executive Jason Hellerstein in February, with backing from a group of private investors led by Alex Lo’s Cinema Inutile, 1-2 Special is one a pack of new theatrical-first distributors looking to carve out a space in the domestic market.
The company has been an active buyer on the festival circuit this year, snatching up Radu Jude’s Berlin Silver Bear winner Kontinental ‘25 and his Locarno premiere Dracula; Harris Dickinson’s Cannes prize-winning directorial debut Urchin, Christian Petzold’s Directors’ Fortnight premiere Miroirs No. 3, and Simón Mesa Soto’s Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner A Poet; Ildikó Enyedi’s Venice prize-winner Silent Friend with Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux, and Pete Ohs’ Toronto premiere Erupcja featuring Charli xcx.
1-2 Special negotiated the Rose of Nevada deal with world sales group Protagonist Pictures.
