October Films

This article is about the defunct American independent film production company. Not to be confused with the currently-trading London and New York-based television production company October Films Limited and its subsidiary, October Films Inc..

October Films was a major U.S. independent film production company^[1] and distributor founded in 1991 by Bingham Ray and Jeff Lipsky as a means of distributing the 1990 film Life Is Sweet.

October Films

Industry	Independent film
Founded	1991; 33 years ago (1991)
Founder	Bingham Ray Jeff Lipsky
Defunct	1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Fate	Sold to USA Networks and merged with Gramercy Pictures, Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Successor	USA Films (1999–2002) Focus Features (2002–present)
Owner	Seagram (1997–1999)
Parent	Universal Pictures (1997–1999)
Subsidiaries	Rogue Pictures

A series of mergers and acquisitions began when Universal Pictures (then a division of the Seagram Company) bought a majority stake in October Films in 1997.^[2] Universal then sold its shares to Barry Diller in 1999, who renamed the company USA Films and merged it with Interscope Communications and Gramercy Pictures.^[3] Vivendi then acquired USA Films, who in 2002 acquired Good Machine and merged it with USA Films, forming Focus Features.

Filmography

1990s

Release Date	Films	Notes
October 25, 1991	Life Is Sweet
August 21, 1992	The Living End
September 4, 1992	The Tune
June 25, 1993	Chain of Desire
October 8, 1993	Ruby in Paradise
February 11, 1994	The Cement Garden
March 30, 1994	Cronos
May 6, 1994	Kika
August 19, 1994	Killing Zoe
October 26, 1994	The Last Seduction
January 31, 1995	The Silence of the Hams
May 5, 1995	Search and Destroy
September 1, 1995	Nadja
October 6, 1995	The Addiction
November 10, 1995	The Kingdom
November 17, 1995	When Night Is Falling
December 7, 1995	Man with a Gun
April 26, 1996	Cemetery Man
May 10, 1996	Someone Else's America
June 18, 1996	Haunted
August 14, 1996	Small Faces
August 21, 1996	Girls Town
September 27, 1996	Secrets & Lies
November 1, 1996	The Funeral
November 13, 1996	Breaking the Waves
February 21, 1997	Lost Highway
April 18, 1997	Traveller
April 25, 1997	Female Perversions
August 8, 1997	Career Girls
October 8, 1997	Year of the Horse
November 14, 1997	Kiss or Kill
February 20, 1998	The Apostle
May 1, 1998	Still Breathing
May 6, 1998	The Kingdom II
June 12, 1998	High Art
August 7, 1998	Safe Men
August 1998	The Naked Man
September 18, 1998	A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
October 9, 1998	The Celebration
January 15, 1999	Hilary and Jackie
February 5, 1999	The Last Days
April 2, 1999	Cookie's Fortune
April 30, 1999	Three Seasons
June 18, 1999	The Phantom of the Opera
July 9, 1999	Autumn Tale
August 27, 1999	The Muse
September 10, 1999	Black Cat, White Cat
September 17, 1999	Sugar Town
September 24, 1999	Lucie Aubrac
November 5, 1999	Rosetta
December 15, 1999	Topsy-Turvy	distributed by USA Films

2000s

Release Date	Title	Notes
March 3, 2000	Agnes Browne	distributed by USA Films
March 10, 2000	Condo Painting	distributed by USA Films
April 28, 2000	The Idiots	distributed by USA Films
May 5, 2000	Up at the Villa	distributed by USA Films
May 26, 2000	Joe Gould's Secret	distributed by USA Films
June 21, 2000	Boricua's Bond	distributed by USA Films
August 30, 2000	Alice and Martin	distributed by USA Films
October 20, 2000	A Room for Romeo Brass	distributed by USA Films
October 20, 2000	Cherry Falls	distributed by USA Films
December 27, 2000	Traffic	distributed by USA Films
March 2, 2001	Series 7: The Contenders	distributed by USA Films
April 27, 2001	One Night at McCool's	distributed by USA Films
June 8, 2001	Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?	distributed by USA Films
August 10, 2001	Session 9	distributed by USA Films
November 2, 2001	The Man Who Wasn't There	distributed by USA Films
January 19, 2002	Gosford Park	distributed by USA Films

Distributor

• Rebro Adama (1990) (1992)
• Tous les matins du monde (1991) (1992)
• Two Mikes Don't Make a Wright (1992) (1993)
• Un coeur en hiver (1992) (1993)
• Bad Behaviour (1993)
• The War Room (1993)
• Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) (1996)
• Le Colonel Chabert (1994)
• Moving the Mountain (1994) (1995)
• Pao Da Shuang Deng (1994) (1995)
• Mécaniques célestes (1995) (1996)
• Badkonake sefid (White Balloon) (1995) (1996)
• Hollow Point (1996)
• Natural Enemy (1997)
• Kicked in the Head (1997)
• 24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997) (1998)
• The Peacekeeper (1997)
• The Death Train (1998)
• Touch of Evil (1958) (1998)
• Thick as Thieves (1998)
• Il testimone dello sposo (1998) (1999)
• Conte d'automne (1998) (1999)
• Trippin' (1999)
• Detour (1999)

References

1. "Are the U.S.A.'s Independent Films a Distinct National Cinema?". TheFilmJournal.com. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
2. Eller, Claudia (1997-05-01). "Universal Says It Will Acquire October Films". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
3. "Interscope Communications". Audiovisual Identity Database. 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

External links

• October Films at IMDb
• Focus Features
• October Films UK