EXCLUSIVE: UK distributor Independent has sold a SXSW award-winning documentary The donut king to key markets with Vice picking up the film for the world excluding North America, UK / Ireland, Japan, Australia / New Zealand and Portugal.
New deals for the film also include the UK and Ireland (Sky), Australia (Madman), Japan (Twin), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo) and Airlines (Aardwolf). Greenwich Entertainment released the film in North America last month and showed it in virtual theaters.
The well-received feature, which chronicles the story of the Cambodian refugee who became Donut King Ted Ngoy, premiered after Covid before the festival was canceled at this year’s SXSW Documentary Feature Competition. The film received a special jury award from the SXSW jury.
Vice will shortlist the film with Suroosh Alvi, an upcoming series in the recently launched Vice World News. The acclaimed documentary collection is curated by Vice Media co-founder Alvi.
Alice Gu’s directorial debut shows the rise and fall of Ngoy, a refugee who escaped the murderous Khmer Rouge in Cambodia for America, where he built an unlikely multi-million dollar donut empire in the 1970s. Ngoy sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees and helped them get on their feet and teach them the ways of the donut business. In 1979 he lived “the American Dream” but its steep climb would ultimately lead to a crash.
The donut king is a production by Logan Industry in association with Scott Free Productions. Producers are Tom Moran for Scott Free, Jose Nunez, Alice Gu and Farhad Amid. Ridley Scott is the executive producer for Scott Free, with Freida Lee Mock, Andres Rosillo, Juliana Lemus and Jonny Hwang also serving as executive producers.
Director Gu said, “I couldn’t be more excited The donut king be accessible to a global audience. Although much of our story takes place in America, the refugee crisis is global and an immigration story is known around the world. I am eternally grateful to Vice and all of our global partners for accepting the film, and I hope the audience enjoys getting to know Ted Ngoy and the power of kindness and hard work. “Gu is repeated by Gersh.