Saban Films has acquired U.S. rights to Lorcan Finnegan’s Cannes Critics’ Week feature “Vivarium,” starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots. XYZ Films is handling sales and has also closed deals in a raft of international territories, including the U.K. and France.
The U.S. deal was brokered by Saban Films’ Ness Saban, along with CAA Media Finance and XYZ Films on behalf of the filmmakers.
The movie follows a young couple, played by Poots and Eisenberg, in search of a starter home. They follow a mysterious estate agent and get trapped in a strange housing development.
“We are very impressed with Lorcan’s elevated genre piece, heightened with the strong-caliber performances of Imogen and Jesse,” said Bill Bromiley, president of Saban Films. “We are looking forward to our audiences seeing this original, smart and offbeat film.”
Fantastic Films’ Brendan McCarthy and John McDonnell produced “Vivarium” in association with Lovely Productions. Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Denmark’s Pingpong Film were co-producers.
XYZ Films executive-produced and has global sales. It kicked off the sales effort at Cannes and has closed a slew of deals. CDC has it for Latin America, Falcon for the Middle East, NonStop Entertainment for Scandinavia, Notorious for Italy, The Jokers Films for France, Umbrella for Australasia, and Vertigo Releasing for the U.K. and Ireland.
Elsewhere, it is with Contracorriente for Spain, Lumix for Korea, Films4You for Portugal, Weirdwave for Greece, Parco for Japan, and Russian World Vision for CIS.