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OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES TO RE-RELEASE MARC SINGER’S ICONIC DOCUMENTARY DARK DAYS

Posted Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 - Comments Off on OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES TO RE-RELEASE MARC SINGER’S ICONIC DOCUMENTARY DARK DAYS
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Film will be released theatrically, followed by DVD and digital platforms Summer 2011

New York, NY (January 18, 2011) – Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired worldwide rights to Marc Singer’s critically acclaimed documentary DARK DAYS, an insightful portrait of a homeless population living in the underground train tunnels of New York City in the 1990’s.  O-scope will release the film theatrically, followed by DVD and digital platforms this summer as well as re-boot educational and non-theatrical screenings.

In the pitch black of the tunnel, rats swarm through piles of garbage as high-speed trains tear through the darkness. For some of those who have gone underground, it has been home for as long as twenty-five years.

Deeply moving with a hypnotic soundtrack by legendary turntablist DJ Shadow, DARK DAYS is an eye-opening experience that shatters the myths of homelessness by revealing a thriving community living in tunnels beneath New York City and honestly capturing their resilience and strength in their struggle to survive.

DARK DAYS premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival where it went on to win the Audience, Cinematography and Freedom Of Expression Awards in the Documentary Category (it remains the only documentary film to ever win three awards at the festival).  DARK DAYS also won the Best Documentary Award at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards and the Best Documentary Award from the 2000 Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Marc Singer said, “Oscilloscope was my first choice to re-distribute ‘Dark Days.’ If they had refused, my next move was to take the film out of circulation while I bombarded them with phone calls everyday or for months on end until they gave in. I’m thrilled it worked out the way it did – it saved me one hell of a phone bill.”

Adam Yauch, head of O-Scope said, “Marc is not only a great filmmaker, but also a friend, and that’s how we like to do things around here. Years ago, he gave me a big ass bullet shell from a sunken WWII sub that he acquired while scuba diving off of Long Island. Am I allowed to tell people about that? Or is that top secret? It’s about three inches wide and about ten inches long, and has the following inscribed on the end “W.N.Y 4,190  — E.C.P.  S.P.F. —  3 Pdr.” If anyone out there knows what these inscriptions mean please contact me. PS. I really like ‘Dark Days’ a lot.”

About Oscilloscope Laboratories

Oscilloscope Laboratories is a film production and theatrical distribution entity launched in 2008 by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Yauch modeled the company after the indie record labels he grew up around, choosing films and then marketing them with the same artistic integrity with which they were made.  The company, which is an extension of Yauch’s recording studio of the same name, has an in-house DVD distribution and production arm, and the paper packaging is reminiscent of the heyday of LP record jackets. All of the company’s DVD packaging is (free of any plastic) printed on FSC Certified 80% post-consumer waste paper and produced in a carbon neutral, hydroelectric plant.  Other Oscilloscope theatrical releases include Yauch’s GUNNIN’ FOR THAT #1 SPOT, Irena Salina’s FLOW, Caroline Suh’s FRONTRUNNERS, Kurt Kuenne’s DEAR ZACHARY, Kelly Reichardt’s WENDY AND LUCY starring Michelle Williams, So Yong Kim’s TREELESS MOUNTAIN, Gabriel Medina’s offbeat comedy THE PARANOIDS, the Academy-Award® nominated THE GARDEN from Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Anders Østergaard’s Academy-Award® nominated BURMA VJ, Nati Baratz’s UNMISTAKEN CHILD, and Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein’s NO IMPACT MAN. Recent releases include Oren Moverman’s Academy-Award® nominated THE MESSENGER, starring Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster and Samantha Morton, Henrik Ruben Genz’s Danish thriller TERRIBLY HAPPY, Bradley Rust Gray’s THE EXPLODING GIRL starring Zoe Kazan, Michel Gondry’s personal family documentary THE THORN IN THE HEART, Jules Dassin’s classic THE LAW and Lance Daly’s award-winning Irish film KISSES. Current releases include Yael Hersonski’s award-winning documentary about a never completed Nazi propaganda film A FILM UNFINISHED, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s HOWL, starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg and Jalmari Helandar’s Christmas fantasy RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE. Upcoming releases include Oscar nominated director Dana Adam Shapiro’s feature film debut MONOGAMY starring Chris Messina and Rashida Jones, James Franco’s directorial debut about a week on the set of SNL titled SATURDAY NIGHT and Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Western tale MEEK’S CUTOFF, starring Michelle Williams, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Bruce Greenwood and Shirley Henderson.

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