One of the great debut features of the year has found a home. We’re pleased to exclusively announce that Grasshopper Film has acquired North American distribution rights to Chronovisor, the debut feature from directors Kevin Walker and Jack Auen, produced by Jason Zuriff, and shot by Leo Zhang—an ingenious armchair mystery shot on-location in NYC in which the life of a reclusive academic collides with the story of a clandestine technology that can photograph the past. Chronovisor stars Anne-Laure Sellier, a professor of behavioral sciences at HEC Paris, in her screen-acting debut.
Chronovisor premiered at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam, where Leonardo Goi named it a Critic’s Pick in his review, saying, “In a work that’s pitched along the nebulous border between fact and fiction, nothing in Chronovisor is as magical as the power Auen and Walker bestow on books, and nothing more exhilarating than the belief this film insinuates in those willing to adjust to its strange, hypnotic rhythms—that there are secrets and mysteries everywhere around you. You just need to know where to look and what to ask.”
It will have its North American premiere at the 2026 New Directors/New Films festival on April 10, 2026, where we named it one of the must-see films. Chronovisor will be released in North American theaters in early Fall 2026, followed by a release on streaming platforms.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey, Founder/President, of Grasshopper Film with Cosmic Salon.
Here’s the synopsis: “While writing a monograph on historical theories of memory, Beatrice, a dedicated and respected academic, becomes beguiled by the story of the “Chronovisor,” an occult device that is said to reproduce visuals from any point in history on a TV screen. Her obsession with the machine drags her from her Upper East Side apartment through the depths of New York City’s hidden libraries, finally to the edge of a breakthrough and a breakdown.”
“CHRONOVISOR is one of the most exciting and audacious American independent films I’ve seen in years,” commented Ryan Krivoshey. “Jack and Kevin have crafted a haunting, richly imaginative work – interweaving literary investigation, secret histories, and far-reaching conspiracies – that draws you deep into its mysteries and lingers long after the credits roll. We’re proud to bring this singular film to audiences across the country.”
“We are great admirers of the work that Ryan and the Grasshopper Film team have done to champion innovative, independent films over the last decade and are incredibly grateful to be partnering with them to bring CHRONOVISOR to audiences across North America,” say Kevin Walker and Jack Auen.
Jack Auen and Kevin Walker are a directing duo originally from Baltimore, MD, now working out of New York City. They are members of the filmmaking collective and production company COSMIC SALON. Their films have played at various festivals around the world, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films (co-presented by the Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center), the Sarajevo Film Festival, the Thessaloniki Film Festival, and the Gijon Film Festival, among others.
Presently celebrating its 10th anniversary, Grasshopper Film is a distribution company dedicated to the release of acclaimed and award-winning independent cinema featuring a library of over 500 titles, including Academy Award winners and nominees, prize-winners from major film festivals, and work from leading US and international directors. Recent releases include the 4K restoration of Michael Almereyda’s NADJA, executive produced by David Lynch, Albert Serra’s AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE, Jem Cohen’s LITTLE, BIG, AND FAR, and Roberto Minervini’s THE DAMNED. Past releases include Kleber Mendonca Filho’s PICTURES OF GHOSTS, Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s NOCTURNES, Albert Serra’s PACIFICTION, Alain Gomis’ REWIND AND PLAY, and Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA, Pedro Costa’s VITALINA VARELA, Oliver Laxe’s MIMOSAS, and Bi Gan’s KAILI BLUES, among others.