In this year’s first major on-site US deal of a Berlin Competition film, fledgling distributor Sumerian Pictures has snapped up Beth de Araujo’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 U.S. 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 begins to act up, while her parents struggle to help her navigate the psychological aftermath.
Sumerian Pictures president Rob Williams negotiated the deal with WME Independent and CAA Media Finance.
David Kaplan, Josh Peters, de Araújo, Marina Stabile, Tatum, Chan, Mark H. Rapaport, and Crystine Zhang served as producers. Kinematics, Spark Features and Yintai financed Josephine and produced 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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