Yahoo News Music Box Films Takes North America On Babak Jalali’s Sundance Immigrant Drama ‘Fremont’
Music Box Films has acquired North American rights to Babak Jalali’a immigrant drama Fremont, which premiered to acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before moving on to SXSW, slating it for release in theaters later in the year, with a home entertainment bow to follow.
Starring real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory and her lonely dinners at a local restaurant, Donya struggles to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings. That is, until an unexpected revelation prompts Donya to use her cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
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Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic, which Marjaneh Moghimi, Sudnya Shroff, Rachael Fung, George Rush, Chris Martin and Laura Wagner produced. Memento International is handling international sales.
“Quiet, tender, and deeply human, Fremont hails the arrival of a strikingly talented new performer in Anaita Wali Zada and loudly announces Jalali as a filmmaker whose ability to tell soulful stories with humor and grace demands attention,” said Music Box Films’ Brian Andreotti. “With an impressive launch out of Sundance and SXSW, we’re thrilled to continue momentum and open this film theatrically to a wider US audience later this year.”
Remarked Jalali, “I’m so pleased that Fremont will be distributed in North America by Music Box, a company I deeply admire for their support of independent cinema and continued commitment to theatrical distribution. I’m proud that Fremont will be part of their catalogue which includes many films I hold in the highest regard.”
“We are thrilled to have found a partner in Music Box Films and are excited for audiences to see Fremont in theaters,” added producer Fung. “We are grateful for their shared passion and belief in the power of storytelling to build and bridge communities.”
A North American distributor of international, independent and documentary features, Music Box Films’ recent releases include Eric Gravel’s César-nominated social drama Full Time, starring Laure Calamy; Lola Quivoron’s Cannes 2022 award-winning Rodeo; and Rebecca Zlotowski’s adult drama Other People’s Children starring Virginie Efira. Upcoming releases include L’Immensita, the Venice favorite starring Penelope Cruz, and Morrisa Maltz’s SXSW road trip drama The Unknown Country starring Lily Gladsone.
Brian Andreotti negotiated the deal for Fremont for Music Box Films, with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.
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