D&E Entertainment has acquired The Hammer, a coming-of-age drama about deaf wrestler Matt Hamill, for US theatrical distribution.

D&E will give the film, previously known as Hamill and winner of the Breakthrough Audience Award at last year’s AFI Film Festival, a nationwide release on Oct 27. ARC Entertainment will handle VOD/DVD/BluRay distribution and Archstone Distribution international.

Directed by Oren Kaplan and written and produced by Joseph McKelheer and Eben Kostbar, the film stars deaf actors Russell Harvard (There Will Be Blood) and Shoshannah Stern (Lie to Me).

It also won awards at the Cleveland and Heartland festivals.