Ad Vitam has acquired French rights to Chinonye Chukwu’s Sundance grand jury prize-winning drama Clemency in another key deal struck by Paradigm.
Alfre Woodard stars as a prison warden who, weary after years of carrying out death row executions, bonds with a man she is sanctioned to kill.
Aldis Hodge, Richard Schiff, and Wendell Pierce round out the key cast on the drama produced by ACE Pictures Entertainment, Bronwyn Cornelius Productions, and Julian Cautherley.
“We saw Clemency in Sundance,” said Ad Vitam partner and head of acquisitions Gregory Gajos. “As soon as we got out of the Eccles Theater we showed our enthusiasm to the producers and Paradigm. For our great pleasure, they answered positively and we closed a deal a few days after.
“The [grand jury prize] is well-deserved in Sundance for this second feature film. We personally think, Chinonye Chokwu realised on that very specific topic the best film ever made. The performance of Alfre Woodard can lead her at the very top. We hope this film can have the same career in France as Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols and Whiplash by Damien Chazelle that we both bought in Sundance in the previous years.”
Ad Vitam plans a theatrical release in autumn or early 2020. Paradigm handles global sales on Clemency and recently negotiated a US sale to NEON on behalf of ACE Pictures.
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