Following the closure of its US distribution arm last month, UK genre film distributor Tartan Films closed its doors late last week. Variety is reporting that the London offices were locked when employees arrived for work on Thursday morning.
Both the US and UK branches of the company were known for releasing edgy genre films, primarily form Asia. The are responsible for bring the works of directors like Takashi Miike (Audition) and Chan-wook Park (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) to Western audiences.
The closure comes on the heels of a streak of financial bad luck that has plagued the company for over a year. Negotiations to be purchased by the Capco Group, who also own ThinkFilm, fell apart last year. A restructuring, which included a merging of its separate PR and marketing departments into one unit based in its London head office, and a cash infusion from a private investor were not enough to stem the tide.
What will happen to Tartan UK’s library of films has not yet been determined, but it will probably be sold off to pay any outstanding debt the company may have,
Palisades Media Corp. has acquired the rights to Tartan US’s library of films and is reportedly working at keeping them in print and available.
