Toronto 2012: IFC Midnight Takes Horror Pic 'Berberian Sound Studio'

IFC Midnight has acquired U.S. rights to writer/director Peter Strickland’s psychological horror film Berberian Sound Studio, which will screen at the upcoming Toronto and New York film festivals.

our editor recommends

Toronto Issues Warning Over Dave Chappelle's On-Stage Smoking

TIFF 2012: Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master' to Play Toronto Fest

The film, which stars Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Antonio Mancino, Fatma Mohamed, Tonia Sotiropolou and Salvatore Li Causi, takes place in a sleazy post-production facility in Italy in 1976. Jones plays an introverted sound engineer from England, hired to do the mix on a horror film.

Keith Griffiths and Mary Burke produced along with executive producers Robin Gutch, Katherine Butler and Hugo Heppel and co-producer Hans Geissendoerfer. The film, from Illuminations Films/Warp X, was co-developed and co-financed by Film4 and the U.K. Film Council Film Fund and made in association with Screen Yorkshire and Geibendorfer Film and Fernsehproduktion KG.

"Berberian Sound Studio is a dazzling cinematic tour-de-force that brings to mind Hitchcock, Argento and De Palma featuring a brilliant performance by Toby Jones. Peter Strickland is one of the most exciting new directors we've come across,” Jonathan Sehring, president of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said.

The deal was negotiated by IFC’s Arianna Bocco, svp, acquisitions and productions, with Brigitte Suarez of The Match Factory on behalf of the filmmakers.