IFC Films have acquired the US rights to Haifaa Al-Mansour’s (Wadjda) Mary Shelley starring Elle Fanning.
The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, where IFC picked up US distribution rights.
HanWay Films has also closed deals with Pyramide (France), Prokino (Germany and Austria), Notorious (Italy), Filmax International (Spain), Paradiso (Benelux), Nonstop (Scandinavia), GAGA (Japan), Transmission (Australia/New Zealand).
On top of that are deals with Challan (South Korea), Capella (CIS), Discovery (Former Yugoslavia), Odeon (Greece and Cyprus), Lusomundo (Portugal), Front Row (Middle East), Ster Kinekor (South Africa), Edko Films (Hong Kong), Datang (China), Fabula (Turkey) and Jaguar (Airlines).
It previously inked deals with Curzon in the UK and Search Engine in Canada.
Mary Shelley follows the teenage author Mary Wollstonecraft as she falls in love with poet Percy Shelley.
Their romance shocks society, though tragedy strikes when they lose their baby daughter, and she turns her pain into the iconic novel Frankenstein.
The film stars Fanning (The Beguiled), Douglas Booth (Loving Vincent), Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Tom Sturridge (Far from the Madding Crowd) and Ben Hardy (X-Men: Apocalypse).
Emma Jensen has written the screenplay, with Amy Baer (Last Vegas) producing through Gidden Media alongside Ruth Coady (Siege of Jadotville) and Alan Moloney (Albert Nobbs) through Parallel Films.
HanWay Films MD Gabrielle Stewart said: “It is wonderful to see such a talented young ensemble cast come together like this. The fans certainly showed up for them at the red carpet at TIFF and it’s been a thrill to see that excitement follow through on social media since.
“Mary Shelley’s story deserves to inspire women everywhere, a belief we share with IFC whose passion for the film make them excellent partners.”
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