Bleiberg Entertainment has picked up international rights heading into Cannes to Jacob Tierney’s The Trotsky and will launch sales on the Croisette.

Jay Baruchel, hot off the success of How To Train Your Dragon and She’s Out Of My League, stars  as a high school student who believes himself to be the modern-day version of the Bolshevik founder and Marxist theorist.

When the youngster is unsuccessful in organising the workers at his father’s factory, he sets his sights on creating a true student union at his new high school. Baruchel stars this summer opposite Nicolas Cage in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The Trotsky premiered at Toronto and recently played at Tribeca.

“This is a fun and intelligent comedy,” Bleiberg’s head of acquisitions Nicholas Donnermeyer said. “I haven’t seen anything like it since Rushmore. We are psyched to be working with Kevin Tierney and his crew at Park Ex Pictures.”

Senior vice-president of worldwide sales Roman Kopelevich negotiated the deal with Tierney and Joe Iacono, on behalf of Park Ex Pictures.

Beverly Hills-based Bleiberg Entertainment’s recent productions include Kirot starring Olga Kurylenko, Paul Schrader’s Adam Resurrected with Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe, and the festival darling The Band’s Visit.