Neon has acquired worldwide rights to “Sharp Edges,” a 1986 documentary about Tonya Harding competing at the National Figure Skating Championships at the age of 15.
Yale University student Sandra Luckow made the film as part of her senior thesis. It follows Harding going to her first National Figure Skating Championships, where she placed sixth. The movie includes interviews with both Harding and her mother, LaVona Golden.
The documentary provided background for the cast and filmmakers of “I, Tonya” and clips from the film have been licensed over the years in numerous shows ranging from “60 Minutes” to ESPN’s “30 for 30,” and most recently for “20/20’s” “Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story” special.
Neon handled the release of the biopic “I, Tonya,” directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It centers on the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. Margot Robbie (who also produced) stars as Harding and Allison Janney plays Golden. Robbie was nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards and Janney won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The movie grossed $47 million worldwide.
Harding pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution in the attack and was banned for life in 1994 from the US Figure Skating Association.
“Sharp Edges” will be playing in New York at the Village East Cinema and in Los Angeles at the Music Hall beginning on July 6 for a one-week run. The pic will be released globally on VOD/EST on July 17 and stream on Hulu beginning on Aug. 3.