EXCLUSIVE: Jason Hellerstein, a co-founding executive of the distributor Sideshow is opening the doors to 1-2 Special, a new North American film distribution company focused on acquiring and releasing features from domestic and international festivals.
1-2 Special will begin acquiring films at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival and will release up to ten films annually. The company is based in New York. Hellerstein will serve as CEO of 1-2 Special and will announce additional hires this spring.
“1-2 Special is committed to championing visionary filmmakers and bringing their work to passionate audiences across North America,” said Hellerstein. “We’re eager to meet the growing demand for bold, boundary-pushing cinema and to perfect a model that prioritizes both critical acclaim and commercial success.”
Hellerstein and his team will select and shepherd films through strategic theatrical releases and awards campaigns.
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As a co-founding executive at Sideshow, Hellerstein played a pivotal role in the acquisitions and marketing on 19 titles including the Drive My Car, EO, All That Breathes, All We Imagine as Light and Flow. In total that group received eight Academy Award nominations and one win, while grossing over $11 million at the North American box office.
Sideshow launched with the 2021 acquisition of Drive My Car, in partnership with Janus Films. The film went on to gross over $2.3 Million in North America and receive four Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. It won the Oscar for Best International Feature after sweeping the category at the Golden Globes, the Gotham Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Film Independent Spirit Awards. It was the first film to win Best Picture at the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics since The Social Network over a decade before.
Hellerstein left Sideshow this fall. Prior to Sideshow, he worked in acquisitions at Magnolia Pictures and in Marketing & PR at Cinetic Media.