Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment partnered to acquire Emily the Criminal, the Sundance 2022 critically-acclaimed thriller, with an original screenplay and directorial debut by John Patton Ford, starring and produced by Aubrey Plaza (Black Bear, Ingrid Goes West). Plaza stars opposite Theo Rossi (American Skin, Army of the Dead) as well as Megalyn Echikunwoke (Late Night, Damsels in Distress), and Gina Gershon (Blockers, Bound).
Give or Take, the heartfelt, multi-award-winning comedy drama from director Paul Riccio, will open in theaters in New York at the Quad Cinemas and Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal on February 11, followed by a DVD, digital release on February 22.
Focus Features acquired Brian and Charles, the Sundance breakout film directed by Jim Archer (who also directed the original short film). It stars David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealey, James Michie and Nina Sosanya. This marks Archer’s feature directorial debut after cutting his teeth shooting comedy sketches with friends before writing and directing several short films culminating in winning gold at the Young Director Awards in Cannes for the short film version of Brian and Charles.
Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, Bleecker Street acquired Abi Damaris Corbin’s (The Suitcase) debut feature 892 starring John Boyega (Star Wars, Attack the Block), the late Michael Kenneth Williams in his final film role (“The Wire”, 12 Years a Slave), Nicole Beharie (Shame, 42), Connie Britton (Promising Young Woman, “Friday Night Lights”), Olivia Washington (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Little Things), Selenis Leyva (Spider-Man: Homecoming, “Orange Is the New Black”), London Covington (Hunters) and Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice”, Changeling).
Here is the official trailer for Marvelous and the Black Hole, the coming-of-age comedy starring Rhea Perlman and Miya Cech, that premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Also starring in the film are Leonard Nam, Paulina Lulu, Kannon Omachi, Jae Suh Park and Jonathan Salvin.
Sony Pictures Classics acquired Oliver Hermanus’ film Living, starring BAFTA® and Golden Globe® winner Bill Nighy which world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was met with strong reviews. Written by Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, Living is a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru.
Watcher, the indie thriller from director Chloe Okuno (Shudder’s V/H/S/94, Slut) which made its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival has been acquired by IFC Midnight. Watcher stars Maika Monroe (It Follows, Greta), Karl Glusman (Love) and Burn Gorman (Torchwood). IFC Midnight will release the film in theaters and on VOD in 2022 with Shudder taking the first streaming window.
The official trailer debuted for King Knight, the indie horror-comedy film starring Matthew Gray Gubler, Angela Sarafyan, Andy Milonakis, Barbara Crampton and Ray Wise.
Ahead of the World Premiere at the 51st International Film Festival Rotterdam in Special “Filmmaker in Focus” section, Amanda Kramer’s “vivid variety show riff” Give Me Pity! starring Sophie von Haselberg, released the teaser trailer and poster.
Abigail Cowen, Logan Marshall Green, Famke Janssen, Nina Dobrev, Eric Dane star in Redeeming Love, the Western romantic drama film set in the American Old West during the California Gold Rush. Directed by D.J.Caruso, the film opens in theaters on Friday January 21, 2022.
Utopia debuted the official trailer for We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, the coming-of-age horror drama film starring Anna Cobb and Michael J Rogers that premiered in the NEXT section of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The film was also an official selection of New Directors/New Films, Fantasia, Outfest, Rooftop Films and more.
Here is the official trailer for The Last Bus, the British drama starring Timothy Spall as an elderly gentleman who travels across the UK to scatter his late wife’s ashes. Also starring in the film are Phyllis Logan, Natalie Mitson, Brian Pettifer, Patricia Panther, Ben Ewing, Grace Calder and Kevin Mains. Directed by Scottish filmmaker Gillies MacKinnon, the film opens in theaters and on digital on February 18, 2022.