New York – April 24, 2025 – IFC Films and Sapan Studio announced today that they have acquired the US and Canadian rights to the heartwarming comedy THE BALTIMORONS from director Jay Duplass, following its World Premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Produced by Duplass Brothers Productions, co-written by Duplass and Michael Strassner, and starring Strassner, Liz Larsen and Olivia Luccardi (IT FOLLOWS), IFC Films plans to release the film in theaters later this year.
In THE BALTIMORONS, after cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist. The homespun holiday tale marks Jay’s return to feature filmmaking in over a decade and has received critical praise since its World Premiere at SXSW where it won the Audience Award for Narrative Spotlight.
Said Director Jay Duplass, “I’m honored to partner with indie Exemplars IFC Films and Sapan Studio on releasing my solo directorial debut “The Baltimorons,” a fancy title which will surely add to their prestige.”
“It’s a delight to see Jay Duplass back in the director’s chair, delivering another deeply heartfelt and humorous film. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Duplass Brothers on this fresh take on an unexpected romance that audiences will fall in love with time and time again,” said VP of Acquisitions at IFC Films Ayo Kepher-Maat. “We are also excited to continue our collaboration with Sapan Studio to bring this crowd-pleasing film to theaters later this year.”
“Having the opportunity to work with the extraordinary Jay Duplass on his irresistible film is an absolute treat,” said Josh Sapan of Sapan Studio. “There’s no one better than IFC Films to bring this audience award winning gem to theaters across the country.”
THE BALTIMORONS is produced by David Bonnett Jr., Michael Strassner, Drew Langer and executive produced by Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Shuli Harel. The deal was negotiated by Ayo Kepher-Maat for IFC Films, Mark Simon for Sapan Studio, and Christine Hsu at CAA with Josh & Dan Braun of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.
About IFC Films
IFC Films is a leading U.S. distributor of independent cinema that is operated by AMC Networks Inc. The company has been at the forefront of championing boundary-pushing, thought-provoking films for 25 years, with a commitment to delivering high-quality, filmmaker-driven cinema across all genres. IFC Films’ slate reaches a national audience through theatrical releases, cable Video On Demand (VOD), and digital platforms.
Some of the company’s successes over the years include Andrew Haigh’s 45 YEARS, Jennifer Kent’s THE BABADOOK, Matthew Johnson’s BLACKBERRY, Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD, Armando Iannucci’s THE DEATH OF STALIN, Noah Baumbach’s FRANCES HA, David France’s HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE, Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, Stephen Frears’ THE LOST KING, Adam Elliot’s MEMOIR OF A SNAIL, Olivier Assayas’ PERSONAL SHOPPER, Tran Anh Hung’s THE TASTE OF THINGS, Michael Winterbottom’s THE TRIP, and Chloe Okuno’s WATCHER.
About Duplass Brothers Productions
Under their banner Duplass Brothers Productions (DBP), award-winning filmmakers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Mel Eslyn create original projects for film, television, and digital media. In television, DBP is under a first-look deal with HBO which has yielded the hit series ROOM 104, TOGETHERNESS, and the HBO animated series ANIMALS. Most recently they produced HBO’s award winning show SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE, starring Bridget Everett which was named an AFI TV Program of the Year in its first season, won a Peabody Award in its second, and is nominated for a WGA award and two Critics Choice awards in its third and final season.
In film, Mark and Jay first gained recognition in the early 2000’s for writing, directing and producing several acclaimed independent and studio films, including THE PUFFY CHAIR, BAGHEAD, CYRUS, and JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME. The teams’ numerous feature film credits in the decades following have included THE ONE I LOVE, TANGERINE, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, CREEP (1 & 2), THE OVERNIGHT, Spirit Award winning 7 DAYS, OUTSIDE IN, LANGUAGE LESSONS and THE SKELETON TWINS. In 2016, Eslyn won the 2016 Independent Spirit Producer’s Award. More recently they released Eslyn’s feature directorial debut BIOSPHERE starring Sterling K. Brown alongside Mark, to much acclaim, as well as Morrisa Maltz’s JAZZY which they produced with Lily Gladstone.
The team frequently collaborates with the documentary filmmaker Sam Jones’, most recently on his HBO features TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF for which they won the Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Sports Program, and JASON ISBELL: RUNNING WITH OUR EYES CLOSED. They also produced the award-winning documentary NOT GOING QUIETLY, which follows the activist and lawyer Ady Barkan, as well as the true crime feature LAST STOP LARRIMAH, which aired on HBO in the states and Netflix internationally, immediately becoming Australia’s #3rd most watched show. DBP is also active in the docuseries television space, best known for producing Netflix’s WILD WILD COUNTRY, winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in 2018. Additionally, the team produced the critically acclaimed series THE LADY AND THE DALE on HBO, Hulu’s SASQUATCH and OUT THERE: CRIMES OF THE PARANORMAL, and Netflix’s popular AMERICAN CONSPIRACY:THE OCTOPUS MURDERS to name a few.
Mark and Jay also appear as actors in various series and films. Highlights for Mark include THE MORNING SHOW on Apple TV+ for which he was nominated for 2020 and 2024 Emmy Awards, the Oscar-winning ZERO DARK THIRTY, YOUR SISTER’S SISTER with Emily Blunt, and BOMBSHELL opposite Charlize Theron. Next up he can be seen leading Hulu’s GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY along with Ellen Pompeo. Highlights for Jay include Amazon’s TRANSPARENT, HBO’s INDUSTRY, and Disney’s PERCY JACKSON. This spring he plays opposite Michelle Williams in FX’s DYING FOR SEX. While Eslyn attempts to stay behind camera, she is occasionally snuck into films such as DUCK BUTTER, where she, Mark & Jay make cameos playing themselves.
Most recently Eslyn and Mark co-created the series PENELOPE on Netflix in the US, which landed in the Top 10 Most Watched TV Shows in its first week, followed by a Spirit Award nomination for the lead actress Megan Stott. The team also released their latest installment of their CREEP franchise, the episodic THE CREEP TAPES, which in its first week became the #2 trending title on AMC+. This year marks Jay’s return to feature directing with 2 films, THE BALTIMORONS (2025’s SXSW) and SEE YOU WHEN I SEE YOU. Other upcoming releases include, Nnamdi Asomugha’s THE KNIFE which will hit theaters later this year, and Katie Aselton’s MAGIC HOUR which premiered at 2025’s SXSW Film Festival.