Hugh Hefner Documentary Gets Distribution Deals

TORONTO, Canada — A biopic documentary film about Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has found distributors according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.

Arrow Entertainment has acquired the international distribution rights outside North America for "Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel” from Canadian director Brigitte Berman.

The company was shopping the movie to foreign buyers at the Cannes film festival.

Phase 4 Films earlier picked up the U.S. rights to the Canadian documentary and Kinosmith grabbed the Canadian rights.

Both distributors plan a simultaneous July 23 North American release for the film, which bowed at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.

According to reports, the film portrays Hefner’s early advocacy of civil rights especially in his clubs and on his TV shows before he launched Playboy magazine.

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