NEW YORK, NEW YORK (October 27, 2022) – IFC Films announced today that they are acquiring North American rights to the kinetic and vibrant debut GOD’S TIME from writer and director Daniel Antebi. Financed and executive produced by Topic Studios and Raven Capital Management, and produced by Watch This Ready, the film had its World Premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in the U.S. Narrative Competition, where it garnered a Best Performance Special Jury Mention for actress Liz Caribel. GOD’S TIME stars Ben Groh in his feature film debut, Dion Costelloe (The Deuce), Liz Caribel (Ellen, Pussy Island) and Jared Abrahamson (American Animals). The film was produced by Emily Korteweg on behalf of Watch This Ready, Andrew Hutcheson, Reid Hannaford and was executive produced by Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom and Maria Zuckerman for Topic Studios; Michael Covino and Kyle Marvin for Watch This Ready; Raven’s James Masciello, Matthew Sidari and Mitchell Zhang; and Josh Peters and Eddy Vallante. IFC Films will release the film in select theaters and VOD on February 24, 2023 and will stream exclusively on AMC+ spring 2023.
In GOD’S TIME, best friends and recovering addicts Dev (Ben Groh) and Luca (Dion Costelloe) are secretly in love with fellow addict Regina (Liz Caribel). At every meeting they hear her share her wild fantasy to kill her evil ex-boyfriend. But one day she changes her share; now she sounds serious. This sets Dev and Luca off on a 24-hour odyssey through pandemic-gripped New York City to stop Regina from making a life-shattering mistake. As their friendship is pushed to the brink, Dev and Luca realize their bond is unbreakable.
Arianna Bocco, President of IFC Films, added, “Daniel Antebi’s wildly energetic debut GOD’S TIME thoroughly commands your attention. Hysterical, dark, and empathetic all at once, he has managed a balancing act that will speak volumes to a young and exciting new audience. We are proud to support this new voice and share it with audiences in North America.”
Director-Writer Daniel Antebi added, “Although this is my first feature film, I can assure you this is my second press release. I am still in a constant state of gratitude! From writing the story with Ben and Dion to my collaborative relationship with Topic Studios, Raven, Watch This Ready, Liz, and now IFC Films. They are the perfect partner to distribute my debut romp.”
Ryan Heller of Topic Studios, and Emily Korteweg of Watch This Ready, added, “IFC Films’ extraordinary history of connecting bold, original films to audiences makes them a perfect home for Daniel’s film. We are so happy to be back in business with Arianna and team and can’t wait for audiences to meet Dev, Luca and Regina.”
Daniel Antebi’s short film A Dios won him a 2019 Sundance Ignite Fellowship, and his short film Soft was an official selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. Daniel has also created work for the United Nations, RFK Human Rights Foundation, and Black Lives Matter, and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film 2020”.
The deal for the film was negotiated by Acquisitions Manager for IFC Films, Adam Koehler with Abraham Bengio of WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers.
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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 independent film. Its unique distribution model makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them in theaters as well as on cable’s Video On Demand (VOD) and digital platforms.
Upcoming releases include the Cannes Un Certain Regard award-winner, CORSAGE, directed by Marie Kreutzer and starring Vicky Krieps (BERGMAN ISLAND, PHANTOM THREAD). Some of the company’s successes over the years have included BOYHOOD, THE DEATH OF STALIN, FRANCES HA, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, THE BABADOOK, TOUCHING THE VOID, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, CHE, SUMMER HOURS, ANTICHRIST, IN THE LOOP, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, TINY FURNITURE, and CARLOS. IFC Films has worked with established and breakout filmmakers, including Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant, Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Miranda July, Lars Von Trier, Gaspar Noé, Todd Solondz, Cristian Mungiu, Susanne Bier, Olivier Assayas, Jim McKay, Larry Fessenden, Paul Dano, Gregg Araki, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, Abdellatif Kechiche, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Abbas Kiarostami, Alfonso Cuaron, Noah Baumbach, Lena Dunham, Ethan Hawke and many more. IFC Films is a sister label to IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.
ABOUT TOPIC STUDIOS
Topic Studios is the award-winning entertainment studio from First Look Media that develops, finances and produces provocative and entertaining content for all platforms including theatrical, streaming, television and podcasts.
The Studio is behind such notable films as Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny, winner of the 2022 Sundance U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and in theaters November 23. (Blumhouse/Amazon); Pablo Larraìn’s Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart (Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominee for her performance) as Princess Diana (with NEON); the Academy Award®-winning Spotlight; The Mauritanian, starring Jodie Foster (Golden Globe® winner for her performance), Tahar Rahim (Golden Globe® nominee for his performance), Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley (STX); 2022 Tribeca premiere God’s Time from first-time writer/director Daniel Antebi, Adam Leon’s Italian Studies starring Academy Award® nominee Vanessa Kirby (Magnolia Pictures; Dream Horse, starring Toni Collette and Damian Lewis and directed by Euros Lyn (co-released with Bleecker Street); The Nowhere Inn (IFC Films), written by and starring Carrie Brownstein and St. Vincent; and Michael Angelo Covino’s Cannes-winning The Climb (Sony Pictures Classics). Acclaimed documentaries from the Studio have included Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry’s Attica on Showtime (2022 Academy Award®-nominee for Best Documentary); Lizzie Gottlieb’s Turn Every Page, about literary legends Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb (Sony Pictures Classics); the PGA-winning HBO big wave surfing series from director Chris Smith, 100 Foot Wave, which recently won an Emmy® for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program and was nominated for Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series, and which has been renewed for a second season; the Peabody® and Film Independent Spirit Award-nominated, three-part series Nuclear Family, also from HBO; Douglas Tirola’s Leonard Bernstein portrait Bernstein’s Wall; Lucy Walker’s wildfires documentary Bring Your Own Brigade, on Paramount+; the GLAAD Media Award winner Mucho Mucho Amor on Netflix; the ACLU-focused The Fight, co-released with Magnolia Pictures; and the Film Independent Spirit Award-nominated docuseries Love Fraud on Showtime.