Jessica Harrop: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Sandbox Films and CPH:DOX — the prestigious documentary film festival in Copenhagen — are teaming up on a new award that will elevate the profile of science-themed storytelling.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Sandbox Films is releasing Penny Lane’s “Confessions of a Good Samaritan” in select theaters beginning June 28. The docu, which premiered at the South By Southwest film festival in 2023, focuses on Lane’s decision to give one of her kidneys to a stranger, which turns into a funny and moving personal quest to understand the nature of altruism. The film also investigates the ethical controversies surrounding organ donation and Lane’s own motivations for giving away her kidney.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Sandbox Films has promoted Jessica Harrop to executive director of the company. In her new role, she will lead in strategic planning, editorial decision-making and the building of new partnerships and initiatives at the nonfiction studio.

Lise Pedersen Science is one of the central themes of leading European doc film festival CPH:DOX. Alongside the broad selection of films on offer in the CPH:SCIENCE section, the event also opens the floor to conversations on the role of science docs with key players, ranging from filmmakers and producers to commissioners and public broadcasters.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Filmmakers Alex Gibney, Johan Grimonprez and Laura Huertas Millan, along with industry figures Jessica Harrop from Sandbox and Marie Nelson from Hot Docs will be among the speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, the discussion program at documentary festival CPH:DOX. The program, which is curated in partnership with the training initiative Documentary Campus, has the theme “rebuilding narratives.” The conference will kick off on March 18 with a collaboration with the DISCO Network – made up of Ambulante, AFLAMUNA, DocsMX, Doc Society, DocSP, Docubox, In-Docs and India Docs – who will present and workshop “Our Declaration of Independence.” This session, led by Jad Abi-Khalil (AFLAMUNA) and Beadie Finzi (Doc Society), is a result of an initiative aiming to “articulate the importance of independent documentaries to culture, society and democracy, and to advocate for the resources and platforms they deserve.” In the mornings of March 19-21, there will be thought-provoking conversations with filmmakers featured in this year’s CPH:DOX program.

EXCLUSIVE: Sandbox Films (Fire of Love) and XTR (Ascension) have teamed to produce feature doc A Life Illuminated, exploring the life and legacy of pioneering marine biologist Edie Widder, in association with ocean exploration nonprofit OceanX.

Addie Morfoot Contributor With documentary distribution in a state of disruption, most independent nonfiction filmmakers have been left on their own to find new and creative solutions to ensure that their films reach audiences. Ian Cheney is the latest director to turn to a bespoke distribution method for his docu “The Arc of Oblivion.” Cheney wrote, edited, and directed the film, which explores people’s impulse toward preservation and how it relates to the natural world, memory and legacy.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor After launching less than three years ago, production company Sandbox films celebrated Oscars weekend this year with a nominated documentary, “Fire of Love.” The company will also premiere two new documentary films, “Confessions of a Good Samaritan” from Penny Lane and “The Arc of Oblivion” from Ian Cheney. Founding director Greg Boustead tells Variety that the boutique company seeks to share stories that pack an emotional punch, as he felt that element was often missing when it came to the science non-fiction genre. “One of the motivations for founding a company is to find those stories of where science and technology intersect with society in interesting and unexpected ways,” Boustead says.

EXCLUSIVE: Searchlight Pictures is making a deal to turn Fire of Love into a narrative feature. The film, which tells the story of the scientific research and romance of preeminent French volcanologist filmmakers Katia and Maurice Krafft, is a frontrunner in the Oscar race for Best Documentary after premiering at 2022 Sundance, winning a Jury Prize and being acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films.  

EXCLUSIVE: The Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films have announced the 10 projects and filmmaking teams selected as the latest recipients of grants from the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund.

Neon in association with National Geographic Documentary Films said director Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love will cross $1 million at the box office this weekend, becoming the biggest documentary release of the year for combined domestic and international gross. The film opened this summer and is entering its ninth week in theaters nationally. It will stream on Disney+ later this year.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media Sandbox Films and Gamechanger Films will develop “Under the Dream,” a new documentary feature that will be co-directed and co-produced by Saelyx Finna, Mia Imani and Laurie Polisky. The film is a creative documentary about the uncharted realm of dream technology and the Black-led movement to protect our minds at night. Gamechanger CEO Effie Brown, and Sandbox Film’s Jessica Harrop, head of production and development, and founding director Greg Boustead will be acting as executive producers on the project.   Sandbox is a documentary studio behind “Fire of Love,” a look at married volcanologists that debuted at Sundance before selling to National Geographic Documentary Films, and Gamechanger Films is a production company behind the upcoming A24 release “The Inspection.”

Sasha Urban editorNeon will partner with National Geographic to release Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” documentary, following a successful Sundance debut earlier this year. Neon is planning a theatrical release for this summer, with a streaming release on Disney+ set for later this year.Dosa’s documentary follows the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through rare archival footage.

Neon said Wednesday that it has come aboard Fire of Love, Sara Dosa’s documentary that world premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. That’s where Deadline boke the news that National Geographic Documentary Films acquired worldwide rights to the pic, which explores the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through rare archival footage.

EXCLUSIVE: National Geographic Documentary Films is closing a mid-seven-figure worldwide rights deal for Fire of Love, the Sara Dosa-directed documentary that opened the festival and created a stampede of bidders in what is the first deal on the virtual ground here.

EXCLUSIVE: Burgeoning documentary production company Sandbox Films has hired Patrick Hurley to fill the newly created position of Distribution Producer, also announcing today that it has launched construction on a new headquarters in New York City.