Filmscope Entertainment (Filmscope) is pleased to announce that it has finalized negotiations for its theatrical and home entertainment release in Australia and New Zealand.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) will be handling all aspects of Needle’s home entertainment release including DVD and Cable for Australia and New Zealand.  Filmscope will manage its own Australian theatrical release of the film, which commences in Perth July 28^th before moving to other states.

Deidre Kitcher from Filmscope commented “We are excited about the upcoming debut of our film in theaters in July and delighted to have the support of Sony for the crucial home entertainment release. From experience we know that a wide theatrical release of an Aussie horror film is unlikely to be successful, so we have decided to manage a targeted campaign focused on limited screens instead”.

In addition to the Australian deal, Filmscope would also like to announce the sale of all rights to Needle for France to a major European distributor, SND Films.  Their manager of acquisitions, Jeremie Charron, had this to say “We are very excited to have acquired the rights to Needle. John V Soto has created a clever and unique supernatural murder-mystery that we think French fans of the genre will love”.  SOYUZ Films have also acquired the rights to CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States, former Soviet Union) which encompasses 11 countries.

Deidre Kitcher noted “In the tough economic climate of the post GFC world, for any Australian film to get sales overseas is quite an achievement. The fact that Needle has now been sold in 62 countries worldwide including the key territories USA, UK, Germany, France and Japan speaks volumes about our company’s overall strategy”.

Needle is also the first West Australian film to win a “Golden Skull” award at Screamfest (2010) Los Angeles along with a slew of awards at the British Horror Film Festival which included Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects and Best Supporting Actress.

Filmed in Perth, Needle features the cream of Australian acting talent including Jessica Marais (Packed to the Rafters), Michael Dorman (Daybreakers, Triangle), Trilby Glover (Righteous Kill), Tahyna Tozzi (Wolverine), Travis Fimmel (The Beast, The Valley), Ben Mendolsohn (Animal Kingdom), Khan Chittenden (West), John Jarratt (Wolf Creek) and Jane Badler (V TV series).

Needle, an exciting supernatural murder mystery, is about a killer who uses an 18th century machine with supernatural powers to terrorize students at a local college.