NEW YORK, NY (July 29, 2020) – IFC Midnight announced today that it is acquiring North American rights to KINDRED, directed by Joe Marcantonio and produced by Dominic Norris & Jack Lowden of Reiver Pictures. KINDRED explores themes of control and a young woman’s struggle with the slow breakdown of her own sense of reality in this twisted psychological drama, with a screenplay by Marcantonio and Jason McColgan. The film stars a breakout performance by Tamara Lawrance (The Long Song), Jack Lowden (Dunkirk, Fighting With My Family), Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), and Edward Holcroft (Kingsman, The Sense of an Ending). John Keville & Morgan Bushe of Fastnet Films serve as Executive Producers alongside Norman Merry & Peter Hampden of Lipsync Productions, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross of Head Gear Films, Serotonin Films and Gareth Wiley. IFC Midnight will release the film on November 6th, 2020.
When her boyfriend Ben suddenly dies in an accident, mother-to-be Charlotte collapses upon receiving the news. She wakes up in Ben’s family home, a crumbling old manor house in the middle of nowhere with Ben’soverbearing mother, Margaret, and his controlling stepbrother, Thomas. They are determined to care for her, at least until the baby arrives. Grief stricken and increasingly haunted by visions possibly brought on by the pregnancy, Charlotte accepts their help. But as the days go by she begins to doubt their intentions and her suspicions grow. Are they drugging her and keeping her captive, with the aim of taking her unborn baby? As her visions intensify and the haze of lies grows, Charlotte decides that her only option is to break free from this family once and for all – but at what cost?
Arianna Bocco EVP of Acquisitions and Productions of IFC Films said, “KINDRED is a discovery with strong performances and an expertly crafted atmosphere – the perfect addition to the IFC Midnight family. We’re excited to bring this wickedly smart film to audiences across the country.”
Director Joe Marcantonio added, “I’m really delighted to be working with IFC Films – to be on a slate alongside films by Sean Durkin and Michael Winterbottom is a dream-come-true for me. It’s fantastic to have joined forces with a team who are so enthusiastic about ‘KINDRED’, and I can’t wait to get the film in front of audiences later this year.”
IFC Films is fresh off a successful opening weekend with Dave Franco’s THE RENTAL, scooping the title of #1 movie in America at the box office, and #1 on the iTunes charts. Together with the success of Natalie Erika James’ RELIC and The Pierce Brothers’ THE WRETCHED, IFC Films has banked over $3M from drive-in cinemas alone with an innovative strategy during the exhibition COVID-19 shutdown. Other critically acclaimed 2020 releases include, Carlo Mirabella Davis’ SWALLOW and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s THE TRUTH.
The deal for the film was negotiated by IFC Films’ EVP of Acquisitions and Productions Arianna Bocco and Director of Acquisitions Aijah Keith with UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers. Beta Cinema is handling international sales.
###
ABOUT IFC MIDNIGHT
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 digital and cable’s Video On Demand (VOD) platform, reaching nearly 50 million homes.
Current releases include Natalie Erika James’ Sundance hit RELIC and Egor Abramenko’s SPUTNIK. Some of the company’s successes have included Andy Nyman’s critical darling GHOST STORIES, André Øvredal’s box-office success THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, Peter Strickland’s modern giallo BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO, Lucile Hadžihalilović’s EVOLUTION, Johnnie To’s Hong Kong revenge thriller VENGEANCE, Sean Byrne’s THE DEVIL’S CANDY, and the award-winning and cultural phenomenon THE BABADOOK. IFC Midnight is a sister label to IFC Films, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.