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Adopt Films, a new indie film distributor with strong Minnesota roots, has become an international art cinema powerhouse, going from "Never heard of 'em" to "Who are those upstarts?" overnight.
St. Paul entrepreneur Tim Grady, philanthropist Karen Sternal of Minneapolis and New Yorker Jeff Lipsky formed Adopt last fall to bring distinctive, groundbreaking films to the limelight and make money in the process.
A few weeks ago they made a splash at the Berlin International Film Festival, the most important global film market after Cannes. Sifting through some 400 films up for sale, they struck gold, buying four movies that went on to win top prizes. The film website Indiewire wrote about their buying blitzkrieg under the headline "How Adopt Ruled Berlin."
Grady and Sternal, longtime supporters of the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival, provided seed money of more than $1 million; Lipsky, a founder of the respected indie labels October Films and Lot 47, brought four decades of marketing savvy. He insisted the new venture's name begin with "A," so it would be at the top of every industry directory.
Adopt operates from Lipsky's New York offices, with Grady and Sternal sharing executive responsibilities. At film festivals, Grady and Lipsky operate as divining rods, detecting cinematic treasure others may have bypassed.
In Berlin, the partners snared Christian Petzold's "Barbara," a drama about an East German doctor in the 1980s who plots a cross-border escape. Two days later Petzold won the festival's best director award. Adopt acquired Miguel Gomes' "Tabu," a Portuguese novelty combining luscious period romance and contemporary absurdist comedy. It took the Alfred Bauer Prize for Innovation and the International Federation of Film Critics prize.
Adopt's third pick-up was Ursula Meier's "Sister," a Swiss thriller set at a ski resort. The film earned the prestigious Special Award Silver Bear. Best of all for Adopt was its purchase of Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's "Caesar Must Die." The movie is a docudrama interpretation...