02.06.10
New York (NY) (January 13, 2009) – IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors of independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired U.S. rights to LIFE DURING WARTIME, the latest from award-winning writer-director Todd Solondz. The film is a part sequel/part variation on the American independent classic HAPPINESS and features many characters from that film as well as his first film, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, all played by different actors. The eclectic cast includes Ally Sheedy (High Art), Allison Janney (Juno), Shirley Henderson (Marie-Antoinette), Ciarán Hinds (the upcoming The Eclipse), Paul Reubens (Blow), Charlotte Rampling (Swimming Pool), Gaby Hoffman (You Can Count On Me) and Michael Kenneth Williams (Gone Baby Gone). The film was produced by Christine Kunewa Walker and Derrick Tseng and executive produced by Elizabeth Redleaf and Mike S. Ryan for Werc Werk Works.
LIFE DURING WARTIME had its world premiere at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, receiving the Golden Osella award for best screenplay. It was also featured at the 2009 Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals.
IFC Films acquired the rights to LIFE DURING WARTIME from the producers Werc Werk Works represented by Cinetic Media. The deal was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, IFC Films VP of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, with Victoria Cook from Cinetic.
IFC Films will release LIFE DURING WARTIME in the Summer of 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings critically-acclaimed independent movies to on-demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.
In LIFE DURING WARTIME, the characters struggle to find a place for themselves in an unpredictable and volatile world. The past haunts the present and imperils the future: ghosts circle and loom, trouble and console. The question of forgiveness, and its limits, threads throughout a series of intersecting love stories, offering clarity and, possibly, alternatives to the comforts of forgetting. There is Joy (Shirley Henderson), who discovers her husband Allen (Michael Kenneth Williams) is not quite cured of his peculiar “affliction” and runs away, seeking solace and guidance from her mother and sisters; her former suitor Andy (Paul Reubens), now deceased, but still never giving up in his effort to win Joy’s heart; her sister Trish (Allison Janney) who meets Harvey (Michael Lerner), a lonely divorced man on the cusp of retirement, and hopes that a new man in the house will bring stability to her fragile family; her sister Helen (Ally Sheedy) who feels victimized by both her family and her Hollywood success; her mother Mona (Renée Taylor), who can’t let go of her bitterness about men; Harvey’s son Mark (Rich Pecci), who struggles with social isolation and profound pessimism; Bill (Ciáran Hinds), Trish’s former husband, just released from prison and on a quest to reconnect with his son Billy (Chris Marquette); and Jacqueline (Charlotte Rampling), the needy woman who forgoes caution in her desperate search for love. All these characters and storylines—alternately funny and sad, outrageous and poignant—dovetail, expand, and collide to create a kaleidoscopic and emotionally resonant portrait of prisoners of love and life during wartime.
President of IFC Entertainment Jonathan Sehring commented, “Todd Solondz is one of the most original voices in American filmmaking today. We are so thrilled to be releasing this darkly funny and bittersweet film which we consider his best. We think its perfect for all our platforms.”
Todd Solondz said “The people at IFC Films are the swellest! This is going to be fun!”
“LIFE DURING WARTIME embodies Werc Werk Works’ philosophy of championing diverse projects and collaborating with some of independent film’s leading auteurs,” says Elizabeth Redleaf, CEO of Werc Werk Works. “We believe that with IFC Films’ incredible track record and its devotion to bringing the best independent films to the largest possible audience, we have found the perfect home for this terrific movie.”
Back