Film Made Its World Premiere At The 2015 Sundance Film Festival Where It Was Awarded The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
NEW YORK, NY (March 5, 2015) – IFC Films announced today that the company is acquiring U.S. rights to Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT. The film, with a screenplay by Tim Talbott, stars Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Nick Braun, Thomas Mann, Ki Hong Lee, James Wolk, James Frecheville and Moises Arias. THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT was produced by Abandon Features, Sandbar Pictures’ Lizzie Friedman and Greg Little, Coup d’État Films’ Brent Emery, Lauren Bratman, and executive producer Brian Geraghty. Abandon Features, Sandbar Pictures and Vineyard Point Productions financed. The film made its world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. IFC Films will open the film in theaters later this year.
The film is based on the real-life research of Dr. Zimbardo, who in the summer of 1971 launches a study on the psychology of imprisonment in which 18 male undergraduates are randomly assigned the role of either guard or prisoner. The test subjects rapidly begin to embody their roles: the guards becoming power-hungry and sadistic while the prisoners plot a reprisal to the degradation they suffer. As Zimbardo and his team monitor the escalating conflict, they begin to question their own role in the experiment.
“Alvarez has created a riveting drama with an extraordinary cast of both established and breakthrough actors working at the top of their game,” says Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films.
The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, SVP of Acquisitions and Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films, with UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.
IFC Films is a sister label to IFC Midnight and Sundance Selects, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.
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About IFC Films
Established in 2000 and based in New York City, IFC Films is a leading U.S. distributor of quality talent-driven independent film. Recent IFC Films successes include Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and Lorelei Linklater, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture; and Michael Winterbottom’s THE TRIP TO ITALY starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Upcoming films include Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul’s THE D TRAIN starring Jack Black and James Marsden; and Leslye Headland’s SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE starring Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis. Some of the company’s notable releases over the years have included Joel Zwick’s MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, Michael Moore’s FAHRENHEIT 9/11, Lena Dunham’s TINY FURNITURE, Noah Baumbach’s FRANCES HA, and Alfonso Cuaron’s Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. IFC Films is a sister label to Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.