HBO Films is buying “Share,” a cautionary tale about internet culture that debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The movie came into the festival with theatrical distribution, but it will instead debut on the cable channel at some point in 2019.
It’s the second time this week that A24, the indie studio that backed the picture, is partnering with HBO. Earlier this week A24 announced it was selling “Native Son,” another Sundance entry, to the cable giant. The deal for “Share” is said to be in the seven figures.
The film follows a teenage girl named Mandy who is the subject of a cellphone video that appears to show a sexual assault. Mandy was drunk when the apparent assault took place, and doesn’t remember what transpired. When the video is widely shared, she must navigate the escalating fallout.
“Share” is based on Pippa Bianco’s acclaimed short film of the same name, which won prizes at Cannes Film Festival (2015) and SXSW Film Festival (2015). Bianco, who also wrote the screenplay, is making her feature filmmaking debut. The cast includes Rhianne Barreto, Charlie Plummer, Poorna Jagannathan, J.C. MacKenzie, Nicholas Galitzine, and Lovie Simone.
In a mixed review, Variety’s Amy Nicholson wrote, “‘Share’ wants to chip away at any certainty that outsiders know what what’s best for a victim, which is especially important for victims as public as Mandy. Bianco is open to the idea that Mandy’s instinct to ignore the video is just as valid a reaction as her parents’ insistence on doing what’s ‘right.’ By the end of the film, however, you wish Bianco would display her cynicism in full, to shine a spotlight on the dissatisfying truth she seems to believe: that justice is different than healing.”
A24 and HBO have other projects in the works, including “2 Dope Queens” and the upcoming drama series “Euphoria.” Even though HBO has purchased the movie, A24 still plans to be involved in the rollout of “Share.”