MUMBAI: IFC, the first and most widely distributed network dedicated to independent culture, and Lionsgate, the premier independent filmed entertainment studio, have concluded a major licensing deal for a package of 70 Lionsgate feature films, including the critically-acclaimed drama Away from Her.

Away from Her has just earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Julie Christie and a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for Sarah Polley. Christie also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress In A Motion Picture — Drama last week.

The agreement includes such other recent feature film releases from Lionsgate as the Cannes Film Festival Critics Choice award-winner Bug, teaming Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr. in an electrifying performance; Pride starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac; Slow Burn starring Ray Liotta and LL Cool J; sister company Roadside Attractions’ Fierce People, an intriguing drama starring Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Perkins; and apocalyptic thriller and acclaimed Sundance sensation Right at your Door, nearly all of which will make their first free television premiere on IFC following their exhibition on Showtime, with whom Lionsgate has a pay television output deal.

Other Lionsgate box office and critical hits included in the package are 2005 Best Picture Academy Award-winner Crash (for the second free television window), the critically-acclaimed Nick Cage action starrer Lord of War and the provocative Hard Candy, starring Juno’s Academy Award nominee Ellen Page. In addition, IFC has made a major commitment to Lionsgate’s horror and thriller genre, licensing Eli Roth’s Hostel franchise; Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ Saw franchise, the most popular horror franchise in history; Rob Zombie’s House of 100 corpses and The Devil’s Rejects; and other notable genre releases including he Descent, High Tension, Fido and sister company After Dark Films’ Abandoned.

The deal also includes feature films from Lionsgate’s 12,000-title library as well as the libraries of sister companies StudioCanal, Roadside Attractions (in which Lionsgate has a 40 percent investment) and After Dark Films.

“Lionsgate has an exceptionally deep roster of both prestige and edgy genre product that is ideally suited to IFC’s distinctive trademark programming,” said Lionsgate executive vice president television sales Rand Stoll. “This package of films highlights the diversity of our slate as well as the breadth and scope of IFC’s lineup. We are delighted to provide a showcase for Away From Her and the other films in this package to be seen by a broader audience, and the deal underscores our commitment to monetize fully all of our product at all levels of box office performance.”

“This new partnership with Lionsgate allows us to continue to curate television’s best film library well into the future. Lionsgate’s original, daring and award-winning films perfectly align with our uncut brand, with characters and stories that speak to our mandate to be the voice of independent culture,” said IFC EVP and general manager Evan Shapiro.

“We are proud to offer this slate of distinctive films to IFC’s educated, discriminating and influential viewers, and to help the films reach new audiences across the country.”