In this year’s first major on-site US deal of a Berlin Competition film, fledgling distributor Sumerian Pictures has snapped up Beth de Araújo’s drama Josephine in what it said is a seven-figure deal.
Sumerian will plan a “major theatrical release” and awards campaign on the upcoming international premiere that was drawing early buzz in Berlin last week. The film debuted in Sundance in January and won the US Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and audience award prizes.
Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, breakout Mason Reeves, and Phillip Ettinger star in the story of a young girl who witnesses a sexual assault in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and acts up in the ensuing weeks, while her parents struggle to help her navigate the psychological aftermath.
Sumerian Pictures president Rob Williams negotiated the deal with WME Independent, CAA Media Finance, and Kinematics president Emanuel Nuñez.
David Kaplan, Josh Peters, de Araújo, Marina Stabile, Tatum, Chan, Mark H. Rapaport, and Crystine Zhang served as producers, with Nuñez and Jordan Rapaport on board as executive producers.
Kinematics and Spark Features led the financing and Yintai joined as a financing partner. The companies produced Josephine alongside de Araújo’s company, Vibrato, in association with Free Association.
Josephine marks Araújo’s second feature after her 2022 debut and SXSW selection Soft & Quiet, which was acquired by Blumhouse and released by Momentum Pictures.
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