Slater Brothers Entertainment has secures North American rights to My Uncle Rafael following its success at the Arpa International Film Festival, the annual LA event celebrating the Armenian diaspora.

The comedy was a centrepiece screening and earned Vahik Pirhamzei the breakthrough performance award. Former Steven Spielberg assistant Marc Fusco directed from a screenplay by Scott Yagemann.

“Marc Fusco, Vahik Pirhamzei, Scott Yagemann and the team behind Rafael are incredibly talented and we are honoured to be working with them,” executive producer Todd Slater said. “We’re excited to provide the distribution channel to get [My Uncle Rafael] to the masses.”

The story is about an old Armenian uncle who gets cast in a reality show and has one week to save a dysfunctional American family from breaking up. The cast includes Missi Pyle, John Michael Higgins, Anthony Clark, Joe Lo Truglio and Rachel Blanchard.

Slater will oversee the domestic theatrical release in 2012.