Moon Is The Oldest TV’ Acquired By Greenwich Entertainment – Deadline 

Greenwich Entertainment has picked up all rights excluding TV to the documentary Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV, directed and produced by Amanda Kim, which world premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. 

The film will launch its U.S. theatrical release at New York’s Film Form on March 24, being distributed in Canada by Films We Like starting on the same date, ahead of its U.S. broadcast premiere on PBS’ American Masters. Dogwoof acquired UK distribution rights and international sales rights outside of Korea in early January, with a distribution deal and streaming partner for the latter territory to be announced shortly.

The doc tells the story of Nam June Paik, a pillar of the American avant-garde in the 20th century, widely regarded as “The George Washington of Video Art,” who coined the phrase “Electronic Superhighway,” and is arguably the most famous Korean artist in modern history. It charts Paik’s artistic evolution, from his formative education in Munich, through his rise in the New York art scene, and his Nostradamus-like visions of a future in which “everybody will have his own TV channel.”

Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV is a JBS Arts & Curatorial Production. Kim’s fellow producers on the project were Jennifer Stockman, David Koh, Amy Hobby, Jesse Wann and Mariko Munro. Exec producers are Kenzo Digital, Steve Jang, Florence Sloan, Steven Yeun, Fab 5 Freddy, Alexandra Munroe, Brandon Chen, American Masters‘ Michael Kantor, and Center for Asian American Media’s Stephen Gong and Donald Young. 

“The response to this film has been incredible at the Sundance Film Festival,” said producers Stockman and Koh. “We hope that people around the world and of all generations will be inspired by Nam June’s story and that our film will further establish his reputation as one of the giants of the 20th century. We are excited to partner with Greenwich Entertainment, American Masters Pictures, Films We Like and Dogwoof to be sure this film is seen by the widest audiences. We are proud to introduce first-time Korean-American born filmmaker Amanda Kim.”

“Bolstered by impressive research and rich archival material, Amanda Kim and her team have found the moving narrative arc of Paik’s life and art while giving us a strong sense of Paik the person,” added Greenwich Co-President, Ed Arentz. “We look forward to bringing Paik’s amazing story and art to 21st century audiences.”

While financials for the Nam June Paik deals weren’t disclosed, they were negotiated between Koh of Curatorial, Greenwich’s Arentz, Kantor of American Masters Pictures and Ron Mann of Films We Like.