Neon has acquired worldwide rights to Ava DuVernay’s drama Origin starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal ahead of the world premiere in Venice on Wednesday.
The film marks the first competition entry on the Lido by an African-American woman and will also play as a gala screening at TIFF on September 11 with DuVernay scheduled to attend.
Neon plans a nationwide theatrical release later this year after what it called a competitive bidding situation.
Origin is inspired by the life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson as she sets out to write her acclaimed book Caste: The Origin Of Our Discontents while dealing with personal tragedy.
The cast includes Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, Finn Wittrock, Jasmine Cephas-Jones and Connie Nielsen.
Paul Garnes and DuVernay produced Origin through DuVernay’s Array Filmworks.
Tom Quinn brokered the deal for Neon with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers and said, “I’ve known Ava for a long time and my love and admiration for her and her work goes back further, even before Middle Of Nowhere… Origin proves once again that Ava remains one of the most groundbreaking and essential filmmakers of her generation.”
Neon attended the Venice world premiere of Michael Mann’s Ferrari, which it acquired for North America and plans to release on December 25.
The company’s Telluride and TIFF line-up includes Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel starring Julia Garner; Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall; Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera; Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days which is Japan’s Oscar submission; and Robot Dreams from Pablo Berger.
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