Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to Pedro Almodóvar’s short Western “Strange Way of Life,” excluding the territories of the U.K., France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Latin America.
Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal star in the short that will premiere in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. The short is now in pre-production and Sony Pictures Classics will release this fall. It’s Almodóvar’s second English-language project after “The Human Voice,” which was also distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
“Strange Way of Life” is produced by Almodóvar’s El Deseo and presented by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. It also stars Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, José Condessa, Jason Fernández and Sara Sálamo. It’s produced by Agustín Almodóvar, with Esther García as executive producer and Bárbara Peiró, Diego Pajuelo, and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello as associate producers.
Alberto Iglesias, a frequent Almodóvar collaborator who was nominated for “Parallel Mothers,” composed the score. Costumes are by Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello.
The story follows two gunmen who reunite after 25 years. Almodóvar described the film: “A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, the rancher who rides out to meet him, worked together as hired gunmen. Silva visits him with the excuse of reuniting with his friend from his youth, and they do indeed celebrate their meeting, but the next morning Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship…”
Sony Pictures Classics has a long relationship with Almodóvar, most recently releasing his short film “The Human Voice” as well as “Parallel Mothers,” which earned two Oscar nominations: original score for Iglesias and actress for Penélope Cruz.
Watch the trailer for “Strange Way of Life” here.