The Hallway creative partner Simon Lee’s debut film ‘Dream Racer’ picked up for international distribution by UK based Brightside Films

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Simon Lee camera-thumb-400x225-91025.jpgThe Hallway’s creative partner Simon Lee’s (left) debut feature film Dream Racer has been picked up for international distribution by UK based Brightside Films who will begin representing the film at MIPDOC in Cannes next month.

Says Lee: “We’ve had a number of offers from distributors here in Australia, in Europe and the USA, but Brightside’s boutique approach and genuine passion for the project make them ideal distribution partners for Dream Racer.”

Brightside Films was started in 2010 by managing director Sally Kenchington, who was ex-director of Acquisitions and commissioning editor for factual programmes at the UK’s Channel 5. The company has a strong track record in sales of documentary programming to networks throughout the world.

dreamracer.jpgSays Kenchington: “Dream Racer is a rare accomplishment in documentary film, it succeeds in combining true cinematic scale with the gritty realism one expects from the documentary genre. We already have a lot of interest in the lead up to Cannes.”

Brightside’s appointment follows independently negotiated sales to South Africa’s Super Sports TV network and In Flight-Entertainment sales to Qantas, Emirates and Virgin Australia.

This commercial success comes off the back of festival selections in Innsbruck, Austria and The All Sports Film Festival in Los Angeles where Dream Racer was awarded Best Foreign Feature Documentary.

Christophe Barriere Varju.jpgSingle-handedly written, produced and directed by Simon Lee, Dream Racer tells the extraordinary true story of French Australian business consultant Christophe Barriere Varju’s (left) attempt to take on the world’s most dangerous motor race, the Dakar Rally. But beyond just the story of a race, it’s an inspiring account of the fear of life going by unfulfilled and the pursuit of dreams as the antidote to this fear.

Says Mitchell Block, producer of Academy Award winning documentary Big Mama praised Dream Racer as “a compelling, moving and powerful film.”