In an early acquisition on the eve of the festival, the fledgling distributor Millenium Entertainment has acquired North American rights to “Little Birds,” a drama written and directed by a gang-member-turned-filmmaker Elgin James.
The drama follows 15 year-old Lily and her best friend Alison on the shores of the Salton Sea.
What was once an oasis for the wealthy and famous has become a near ghost town. Lily is sprinting towards adulthood, hoping to escape her small, dying hometown.
When the girls meet three street kids, Lily convinces Alison to follow the boys to LA. They fall into the boys' world of scams and petty crime. When an idea is hatched to use Lily as "bait,” she must decide how far she will go to grow up and Alison must decide how far she will go to protect Lily.
“Elgin has made a powerful and surprising film that deeply resonated with us,” Millennium Entertainment CEO Bill Lee said in a statement. “’Little Birds’marks another extraordinary performance from Juno Temple, features Kay Panabaker in a genuine star-making turn, and showcases Kate Bosworth and Leslie Mann like we haven’t seen them before.”
Millenium was created last year as an independent distributor, with its first film released in April, ‘Trust,’ directed by David Schwimmer and starring Academy Award nominees Clive Owen, Catherine Keener and Viola Davis.
The film, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year and is at the international market in Cannes, stars Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, with Kate Bosworth and Leslie Mann.
The film is produced by Jamie Patricof, Alan Polsky and Gabe Polsky; and executive produced by Max Burger, Monique Burger, Kevin Iwashina and Stefan Nowicki
