Fresh off the world premiere in Next at Sundance Film Festival, Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired OBEX, the black-and-white fantasy film from filmmaker Albert Birney (Strawberry Mansion), also starring Birney. The film marks the first solo, live-action directorial effort for Birney, who also wrote the script with Pete Ohs (Jethica, upcoming SXSW world premiere The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick).
It follows Conor Marsh (Birney), a man living a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home.
Director Albert Birney said, “I’ve long been captivated by the unique and thought-provoking films released by Oscilloscope Laboratories. Their discerning taste and dedication to supporting independent voices deeply resonates with me and collaborating with them on OBEX is an absolute honor.”
Birney has directed six feature films including The Beast Pageant (co-directed with Jon Moses), Sylvio, and Strawberry Mansion (both co-directed with Kentucker Audley), among others. His films have premiered at Sundance, SXSW, and around the world. Birney also served as an animator on Sundance gem We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and has acted in Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow.
The producing team includes Birney, Pete Ohs, Emma Hannaway, and James Belfer, the founder and CEO of production company Cartuna (Hundreds of Beavers). OBEX marks the company’s third collaboration with Birney, having also produced Sylvio and Strawberry Mansion. Ley Line, the company behind indie successes, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Green Knight, and Between the Temples, also reteams with Birney following their collaboration on Strawberry Mansion. The film stars Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez (Under the Silver Lake), and Frank Mosley (Freeland), with an original score by Josh Dibb of Animal Collective.
Andrew Carlin, Theatrical distribution head at Oscilloscope Laboratories added, “OBEX is dreamy, nostalgic, frightening, and completely defies classification. It worms its way into your brain like an 8-bit video game you can’t stop playing. Suffice it to say we were completely dazzled by what Albert and his team pulled off. It’s filmmaking at its purest. Bringing OBEX to theaters across North America is going to be one of our great joys of 2025.”