Magnolia Pictures Acquires Ira Sachs’ Acclaimed Sundance Premiere ‘Little Men’

Ira Sachs fans have been patiently waiting for the director’s sixth feature, “Little Men,” to be picked up for distribution after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month and earned near unanimous acclaim. It may have taken longer than usual, but Magnolia Pictures has finally stepped up and secured all U.S. distribution rights to the coming-of-age family drama. The movie makes it international premiere this weekend at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The official synopsis reads: “‘Little Men’ simultaneously follows the friendship formed between 13-year-olds Jake (Theo Taplitz) and Tony (Michael Barbieri), and an increasingly tense dispute between their parents – all set against a backdrop of the ever-changing socioeconomic situation in modern New York.”

The movie marks the third collaboration between Sachs and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias. They teamed up previously for “Love is Strange” and “Keep the Lights On,” two beloved indies that each received multiple Independent Spirit Award and Gotham nominations. Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle and Paulina Garcia also star in the film as the parents.

“‘Little Men’ is a true gem of a film,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles in an official statement. “Ira Sachs has consistently been making beautiful, even-handed stories with rich, real-life characters and we’re really looking forward to working together on this one.”

Added Sachs, “For many years, I’ve wanted to find the right film to work on with Eamonn. The response to ‘Little Men’ from the whole team at Magnolia was passionate and smart, the two most important qualities of independent distribution.”

Magnolia will release the film later this year. Mongrel International is handling foreign sales rights at Berlin. Watch an exclusive clip above.

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