Under Hellgate Bridge
Under Hellgate Bridge
Under Hellgate Bridge, CAVU Pictures first theatrical release, was written and directed by Michael Sergio and produced by Isil Bagdadi. CAVU self-distributed the film theatrically and Lions Gate Entertainment subsequently acquired all domestic video and TV rights. IFM Film Associates is handling all foreign distribution.
The film walked away with “Best Director” and “Best Film Honors” at numerous film festivals and received Regal Cinemas' first ever “Dreammaker Award”. Sergio's directorial debut also attracted the attention of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation PRISM Awards receiving a PRISM Commendation for the film's accurate and unflinching depiction of drug addiction.
"Powerful, gritty, indie moviemaking at its best"
Moviemaker Magazine
“A midnight ride through the dark heart of the city like you've never seen it before... in the tradition of Lumet, Scorsese and Coppola" New York Newsday
“Under Hellgate Bridge” has completed its US theatrical run. It is currently in ancillary release worldwide and recently had its network television broadcast premiere on ABC.
The Holy Land
CAVU acquired worldwide distribution rights to director Eitan Gorlin's, The Holy Land, which CAVU released theatrically in 2003.
The film, CAVU's first acquisition, immediately shot to the top of the indie box office charts.
At the Angelika Film Center, NY's top art house theatre, The Holy Land out-grossed all of the other films and was the highest per-screen grossing motion picture in the US for two weeks in a row.
The film then went on to play on over 135 screens in the top 50+ DMA's (inc. NY, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, D.C., etc.) and has grossed over $600,000 at the box office.
THE HOLY LAND has completed its US theatrical run and is now available on DVD at numerous retail and video outlets, including Blockbuster.
IndieWIRE ranked The Holy Land one of "the summer's top-ten openers" in the specialty market and ranked CAVU Pictures the number one specialty distributor in the U.S., beating indie pillars Focus Features, Newmarket, Magnolia, Sony Pictures Classics, Paramount Classics and Thinkfilm.
The Holy Land won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature at the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival and took Best Film honors at the Avignon/New York Film Festival. The film's director, Eitan Gorlin, was nominated for an IFP Spirit Award as Someone to Watch in 2003.
"A terrifically assured first feature" -The Los Angeles Times
"One of the freshest, most original movies you'll see this year! - Detroit Free Press