New York, NY (March 12, 2012) – Music Box Films announced today that the company is acquiring all North American rights to KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, the latest film from Ira Sachs. The film premiered to critical acclaim at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.  Subsequently, at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, it received the Teddy Award, the prize for the best film with an LGBT theme.

In his autobiographically inspired, fictional relationship drama KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, filmmaker – and recipient of Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in 2005 for his film FORTY SHADES OF BLUE – Ira Sachs chronicles the emotionally and sexually charged journey through the love, addiction, and friendship of two men (portrayed by Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth). The film was produced by Sachs, Marie Therese Guirgis, and Lucas Joaquin, and the stellar supporting cast includes Julianne Nicholson (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire), Souléymane Sy Savané (GOODBYE SOLO) and Paprika Steen (APPLAUSE). The film will screen at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival next month.

Written by Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON is an honest, unflinching portrait of a relationship between two men in New York City. Despite meeting through a casual sexual encounter, documentary filmmaker Erik (Lindhardt) and closeted lawyer Paul (Booth) find a deeper connection and become bonded in an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows and dysfunctional patterns. Through it all, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity and to be true to himself.

Ed Arentz, Managing Director of Music Box Films, said: “We’ve been fans of Ira Sachs since THE DELTA so its a special treat to be able to present his latest film. Ira gets the big, little and difficult things right in KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: the thrill and evanescence of desire, the endurance of love, the unknowableness of others and the sense of time going by. His homage to legendary New York photographer and filmmaker James Bidgood is an added bonus.”

Noted Sachs: “Music Box has proven itself in a few short years to be a cutting edge distributor with a sophisticated understanding of both the market and cinema.  Ed and Bill have a keen eye for films that have a potential to breakout from the independent landscape, and I’m excited by their ambition and excitement for Keep the Lights On.”

The deal for the film was negotiated by Marie Therese Guirgis (Producer of Keep the Lights On) and Kevin Iwashina (Preferred Content), with William Schopf, president of Music Box Films.

In case you were not in Berlin this past week to watch Keep The Lights On win the Teddy Award for Best Narrative Film at the Berlin Film Festival, now you can watch the whole ceremony. Ira Sachs, Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth pick up their prize at the 71:50 mark, although if you watch the whole thing you can see Stereo Total, Peaches, and a cute boy who can stand on six suitcases on one hand and do the splits. Sounds like a lot more fun than Sunday’s Oscars will be!

What a week! With all the madness at Sundance, we hardly got a chance to update and let you know how things were going with our screenings. Well, now we have a little breathing room before Berlin and can change all that. The long and the short of it is – Keep The Lights On definitely made it’s mark at the Sundance Film Festival. We were one of the most buzzed about films at the festival, and also one of the best reviewed. Salon.com‘s Andrew O’Hehir described the film as “an instant landmark in gay cinema, and easily the finest dramatic film I saw at Sundance this year”, while LA Weekly‘s Karina Longworth called it “a richly textured, sad and beautiful autobiographical love story.” David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said of the film, “Breaking new ground in contemporary American gay cinema, Ira Sachs’ deeply personal drama Keep the Lights On examines a volatile 10-year relationship between two divergently addictive personalities, observed in a style that is loose and impressionistic while at the same time microscopic in its intimate detail.”

Other reviews compared Sachs’ work favorably to films like Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes From a Marriage and Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, last year’s groundbreaking gay English romance film. The lead performances of KTLO actors Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, and Julianne Nicholson were also praised by critics across the board. Around the festival, word of mouth built steadily over the week, with straight audiences and gay alike finding common spaces to appreciate the film’s unique take on a fractured relationship story. For a full rundown of all the reviews and press mentions KTLO accumulated over the week, click below. We’ll be updating the list as more reviews roll in. Next stop – Berlin! More…

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival has gotten off to an amazing start with premiere screenings of Queen of Versailles and the astonishing Beasts of the Southern Wild. But we’re most excited, of course, about our own world premiere tonight at 8PM at the Library Center Theatre. Make sure to follow @ktlomovie on Twitter so you can read the instant reactions after the film’s over! See you tonight!

We’re excited to premiere Keep The Lights On‘s amazing teaser trailer in advance of our Sundance World Premiere on January 20th in Park City. Eagle eyes may also notice the Berlin Film Festival laurels at the beginning of the trailer, of course. Keep The Lights On will make its European premiere in the Panorama section of the long-running and very prestigious German festival. Since the Berlin Film Festival makes an appearance as a setting in the film, it’s only fitting. We hope you enjoy it! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!