EXCLUSIVE: Utopia (Mickey And The Bear, Shiva Baby) has acquired worldwide rights to Maria Finitzo’s feature documentary The Dilemma of Desire, which is billed as an exploration of “cliteracy” and the clash between gender politics and the imperatives of female sexual desire.
The distributor has set an October release for North America exclusively on streaming platform Altavod, to be followed by a November 9 release across major VOD platforms.
The pic premiered at SXSW and has since screened at DocNYC, AFI Docs and HotDocs. It explores the work of four women – artist Sophia Wallace (the creator of “cliteracy”), Dr. Stacey Dutton (intent on pushing the publishing industry to stop leaving out vital parts of female anatomy in its textbooks), Dr. Lisa Diamond (dedicated to reframing ideas about female arousal), and Ti Chang (the head of a company that builds “elegant” vibrators) — who are each tackling the myths that women are told about their sexual desire and their bodies.
The doc comes from four-time Oscar nominated Kartemquin Films. It was produced by three-time Peabody winner Maria Finitzo, Emmy-winner Cynthia Kane and Oscar-nominee Diane Moy Quon
This deal was negotiated by Danielle DiGiacomo on behalf of Utopia.
“It is a powerful thing to control someone’s body. That is why no one wants to talk about the clitoris. It is a reminder of women’s independence and is at the core of their liberation,” said Maria Finitzo.