For Immediate Release:

****  - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“Sublime… one of the most evocative films about an artist I’ve ever seen”

- New York Magazine

“One of the loveliest and most sombre fables of a lonely artist’s ecstasy.”

- The New Yorker

Chicago, IL (January 26, 2010) - Music Box Films Home Entertainment is proud to announce the DVD release of the critic’s darling, SÉRAPHINE.  The internationally-praised film swept the 2009 Cesar Awards (The French Academy Awards) with seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Music Written for a Film.   Martin Provost’s sleeper hit film stars Yolande Moreau, who was awarded ‘Best Actress’ by the Los Angeles Critics Film Association, and the National Society of Film Critics.  The DVD will be available beginning February 16, 2010 for a suggested retail price of $29.95.

Both the film and its lead actress received tremendous accolades within the press and industry.  The Los Angeles Times called it, “Exceptional,” while Roger Ebert exclaimed, “Miraculous,” and the San Francisco Chronicle hailed the film, “A Triumph.“  Yolande Moreau received further nods for her role in the film, taking home the award for Best Actress at The Seattle International Film Festival, The Cairo International Film Festival, The Lumiere Awards, and the Cesar Awards.  Moreau was also chosen “One of The Ten Best Female performances in a poll by The Village Voice.

“This film has received such enormous adoration by the media, and we are proud to bring our audience high-quality entertainment,” said Brian W. Brown, Director of Sales, of Music Box Home Entertainment.

The film dominated the 2009 Top Ten Film lists of many prestigious film critics including: Roger Ebert’s “Best Foreign Films of 2009″; L.A. Time’s “Top 10 Foreign Language Films of 09″ by Kenneth Turan; Newsweek’s “Best of the Year” by David Ansen; NPR’s “The Year’s Top Ten” by Bob Mondello; The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Best Films of 2009″; and is listed as one of Metacritic’s Best Reviewed Films of 2009.

More information can be found on the film’s website, www.seraphinemovie.com.

SÉRAPHINE — Synopsis:

SÉRAPHINE is the true story of Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (Yolande Moreau), a simple and profoundly devout housekeeper who in 1905 at age 41 - self-taught and with the instigation of her guardian angel -  began painting brilliantly colorful canvases. In 1912 Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur; “The Lives of Others”), a German art critic and collector - he was one of the first collectors of Picasso and champion of naïve primitive painter Le Douanier Rousseau - discovered her paintings while she worked for him as a maid in his lodgings in Senlis outside Paris.  Uhde became her patron and grouped her work with other naïve painters - the so-called “Sacred Heart Painters” - with acclaimed shows in Paris, elsewhere in Europe and eventually at New York’s MOMA. Director Martin Provost’s builds his story around the relationship between the avant-garde art dealer and the visionary cleaning lady forging a testament to the mysteries of creativity and the resilience of one woman’s spirit.

About Music Box Films:

Founded in 2007, Music Box Films serves the viewing interests of sophisticated US movie audiences in select cinemas nationwide, on DVD and Blu-Ray, on cable TV and on emerging VOD delivery formats. With a focus on foreign-language cinema, Music Box’s release of Guillaume Canet’s “TELL NO ONE” was the most popular foreign-language theatrical release of 2008 and the most popular foreign-language DVD of 2009.  Music Box Films is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation which also owns and operates The Music Box Theatre, Chicago’s premiere venue for independent and foreign films.

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