IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to "The Myth of the American Sleepover," an indie coming-of-age drama directed by David Robert Mitchell. The film will be released next year.
"The Myth of the American Sleepover" is the debut feature from Mitchell, and features an unknown cast (including Claire Sloma and Annette DeNoyer, below) as a group of teenagers on their last night of summer vacation. "We set out to make an entertaining, gentle and honest film about small, but important moments in our youth," said the director in the press release announcing the acquisition.
The film has been playing the festival circuit since premiereing at South By Southwest in March. It was the first American film in five years to have been made an International Critics' Week selection at Cannes, and also played at the Deauville Film Festival and the Munich Film Festival.
IFC president Jonathan Sehring commented, "[Mitchell] has taken a well known genre and breathed new life into it. We're thrilled to introduce him and his talented cast to American audiences when we release the film next year."
The deal was negotiated by IFC's Jeff Deutchman and George Rush of the Law Office of George M. Rush.
