Sundance 2012: IFC Films Acquires North American Rights to 'Simon Killer'

Joe Anderson

IFC Films has closed a deal to take North American rights to director Antonio Campos' dark drama Simon Killer.

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Killer, which bowed Jan. 20 at the Eccles Theatre in the fest's U.S. dramatic competition, centers on a young American man who visits Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend and falls for a mysterious prostitute. The film stars Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Michael Abiteboul, Constance Rousseau and Lila Salet.

Campos also wrote the script for the project, which was produced by Josh Mond, Sean Durkin and Matt Palmieri. UTA and CAA handled the sale for the filmmakers.

THR film critic Todd McCarthy noted in his review that the sexually explicit film could receive an NC-17 rating.

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On Wednesday, IFC Films purchased North American rights to the comedy Liberal Arts for seven figures.

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, Entertainment One bought North American distribution rights to the competition drama Wish You Were Here and National Geographic Channel picked up TV rights to the competition documentary Chasing Ice. Sundance Selects also picked up North American rights to the competition documentary How to Survive a Plague for high six figures.

On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and Samuel Goldwyn Films grabbed North American rights to Robot & Frank for slightly more than $2 million, 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. 

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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.

Email: Daniel.Miller@THR.com; Jay.Fernandez@THR.com

Twitter: @DanielNMiller; @Writer730