Sundance has been over for a week, but the market for many of the films that premiered at the festival is still chugging along.
On Friday, Sony Pictures Classics announced that it landed North American rights to the Sundance award-winning film “The Persian Version.” The film was written, directed and produced by Maryam Keshavarz and went on to win the Audience Award and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award after debuting in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition category.
It’s the second deal out of the festival for Sony Pictures Classics, which also bought the family drama “A Little Prayer.”
“The Persian Version” was produced by Keshavarz for Marakesh Films, Anne Carey for Archer Gray Productions, Ben Howe and Luca Borghese for AGX, and Peter Block and Cory Neal for A Bigger Boat. It stars Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noor, Kamand Shafieisabet, Bijan Daneshmand, Bella Warda, Chiara Stella, Tom Byrne and Shervin Alenabi.
The film centers on the complex relationship between an immigrant mother and her Iranian American daughter. Reviews were strong, with Variety‘s Lisa Kennedy writing that the film is “a bit madcap and self-indulgent, not unlike its protagonist, before it settles into a groove.”
“After two-plus years of watching everything at home and in our PJs, I am excited to bring ‘The Persian Version’ to theaters where we can experience the joy and humor of this big rowdy immigrant American family together in a communal setting,” Keshavarz said. “Having grown up watching and loving SPC films, I’m stoked to partner with them to reach the widest possible audience for this crazy film.”
UTA Independent Film Group represented US rights with Stage 6 Films. Keshavarz is represented by UTA, Anne Damato and Victoria Cook at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.
Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the film in partnership with Stage 6 Films. Sony Pictures Releasing International will release the film internationally.