By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The film about a dystopian future is coming in the very near future.
IFC Films and Shudder have announced their acquisition of U.S. rights to HUMANE, the feature directorial debut of Caitlin Cronenberg. IFC will exclusively release the movie the theaters beginning April 26, with a Shudder debut to follow later this year; Elevation Pictures has Canadian distribution. Written and produced by Michael Sparaga, it stars Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher; according the official synopsis, the story “[takes] place over a single day, mere months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to take extreme measures to reduce the earth’s population. In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”
“It’s thrilling that my directorial debut is being released by IFC Films and Shudder, two of the most fearless and supportive distributors out there,” Cronenberg says. “Scott Shooman and his team have such a keen understanding of horror films, and are the perfect partners to bring this genre-bending film to audiences.”
“Caitlin has crafted a provocative directorial debut exuding a timeliness and evocative social critique that highlights one of the most assured and exciting new voices to contend with,” says Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ Film Group. “We are honored to distribute Caitlin’s first full-length feature for its theatrical release and presence on our streaming platform, Shudder.”
“With HUMANE, Caitlin has delivered a wickedly smart, humorous and socially relevant thriller with exceptional performances from its outstanding cast,” says Emily Gotto, Shudder’s VP of Global Acquisitions & Co-Productions. “We can’t wait to share this chilling, prescient satire with Shudder members.”
