Oscilloscope acquires North American rights to Sundance winner ‘Shame and Money’

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Visar Morina’s ‘Shame and Money,’ Variety reported on October 28. The distributor plans a theatrical release in early 2027, giving the Kosovo-set Sundance prizewinner a route into North American cinemas as it becomes eligible for international feature Oscar consideration. Oscilloscope has not announced an exact release date.

The film won the Grand Jury Prize in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Under a new Academy rule, that award allows an eligible film to be submitted for consideration for the international feature Oscar. Eligibility does not determine whether the film will be nominated.

How the Sundance prize changes Oscar eligibility

At the Tokyo International Film Festival, Academy chief executive Bill Kramer said the organisation was considering adding more qualifying festivals. He did not announce that Tokyo had been added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film and its distribution plans

Morina co-wrote ‘Shame and Money’ with Doruntina Basha. The story follows a couple in their 40s whose extended family loses its farm livelihood after a dispute. They move from rural Kosovo to Pristina, where the parents seek work and somewhere to live. The cast includes Astrit Kabashi, Flonja Kodheli, Kumrije Hoxa, Fiona Gllavica and Alban Ukaj, Variety reported.

Morina told Variety: ‘In times when the majority of people worldwide are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, I believe we need a kind of class consciousness, and I hope our film makes a small contribution toward that.’ Oscilloscope president Dan Berger described the film as a portrait of a family facing economic pressure.

The North American deal follows other distribution activity. Variety reported that Eksystent Filmverleih released the film theatrically in Germany in September and that international sales agency The Yellow Affair secured rights deals for France, Indonesia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Since Sundance, the film has also won awards at FilmFest Munich, Prifest Kosovo and the ODA Film Festival.