Music Box Films has acquired North American distribution rights to "Steal This Story, Please!," a documentary about journalist Amy Goodman, and will release the film on all major home entertainment platforms on Oct. 20.
The deal covers the United States and Canada, giving the Chicago-based distributor exclusive rights to the film across theatrical, digital and physical formats in the territory. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The documentary centers on Goodman, the longtime host and executive producer of "Democracy Now!," the daily independent news program she co-founded in 1996 with journalist Larry Bensky and others. Goodman has built a career on adversarial interviews with heads of state, corporate executives and military officials, and the film examines that body of work alongside her role as one of the most recognizable figures in independent media.
Goodman's profile extends well beyond her daily broadcast. She and "Democracy Now!" producer Denis Moynihan have co-authored multiple books, including "Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America," published in 2016. She has received the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the Alternative Nobel Prize, and the George Polk Award for career achievement in journalism.
The Oct. 20 home entertainment date positions the film for the fall awards-season window, when documentary distributors typically push titles toward critics' groups and industry guilds. Music Box Films has handled North American releases for a string of acclaimed documentaries in recent years, building a catalog that includes international and domestic nonfiction titles.
Music Box Films, founded in 2007, has distributed films including the Swedish-language "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" adaptations and the 2016 documentary "Fire at Sea," directed by Gianfranco Rosi, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now!" airs on more than 1,400 radio and television stations worldwide, according to the program's own distribution figures, and maintains an independent editorial operation funded largely by viewer and listener donations rather than corporate advertising.
