Sundance 2012: Entertainment One Acquires 'Wish You Were Here'

Entertainment One has acquired North American rights to Kieran Darcy-Smith’s directorial debut Wish You Were Here, the company announced Thursday. The world dramatic competition film bowed at the Library Center Theatre on Jan. 19.

our editor recommends

Wish You Were Here: Sundance Film Review

PHOTOS: The Scene at Sundance 2012

Wish You Were Here centers on two couples that go on a vacation to Cambodia that ends in tragedy when one of the members of the group mysteriously disappears. The remaining trio returns to Sydney and must grapel with the fallout of the tropical trip. It stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Price and Teresa Palmer.

Wish You Were Here is expected to be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada in fall 2012. The film will be released in Australia and New Zealand by eOne in 2012.

Natja Noviani Rosner of LevelK represented the sale for the filmmakers, and eOne was represented in-house by Sejin Park.

PHOTOS: Sundance 2012's Hottest Films

Angie Fielder of production company Aquarius Films produced the film, which was made in association with indie directors’ collective Blue-Tongue Films (Animal Kingdom).

A week into the festival, deals were still closing steadily, with Magnolia Pictures picking up North American rights to the horror film V/H/S for north of $1 million early Thursday morning. Also Thursday, IFC Midnight took on North American rights to the horror film The Pact for high six figures, and Entertainment One bought North American distribution rights to the competition drama Wish You Were Here.

On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and Samuel Goldwyn Films grabbed North American rights to Robot & Frank for slightly more than $2 million; IFC Films purchased North American rights to Josh Radnor's Liberal Arts for seven figures; and Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions closed a deal to pick up U.S. rights to Arbitrage for a day-and-date theatrical-VOD release, much as they did for the 2011 Sundance thriller Margin Call. The sale price was just north of $2 million. 

Other recent sales include Red Lights to Millennium Entertainment (U.S. rights, just under $4 million); Celeste and Jesse Forever to Sony Pictures Classics (North American, Latin American, Eastern European rights, around $2 million); For a Good Time, Call… to Focus Features (worldwide rights, $2 million); and Beasts of the Southern Wild to Fox Searchlight, which also grabbed worldwide rights to The Surrogate for just under $6 million Monday.

Sunday, LD Distribution picked up the thriller Black Rock for just over $1 million, and CBS Films acquired the drama The Words for a combined deal valued at $3.5 million. Competition documentaries Searching For Sugar Man and The Queen of Versailles found homes at SPC and Magnolia Pictures, respectively, on Friday.

Twitter: @DanielNMiller; @Writer730