Following the film’s well-received premiere in Toronto, Blue Fox Entertainment has swooped on North American rights to John Butler’s black comedy Papi Chulo.

papi chulo c tiff 2

Source: Courtesy of TIFF

‘Papi Chulo’

Matt Bomer stars alongside Alejandro Patiño (The Runaways) in the story of a lonely TV weatherman who strikes up an unusual friendship with a middle-aged Latino migrant worker. Wendi McLendon-Covey, Elena Campbell-Martinez and D’Arcy Carden round out the cast.

Bankside handles world sales rights and is showing the film to buyers at AFM. Blue Fox is planning a theatrical release in North America for late-Spring 2019.

Rob Walpole and Rebecca O’Flanagan of Treasure Entertainment are producing Papi Chulo, with finance coming from Screen Ireland, Head Gear Films, and RTE.

Executive producers are Phil Hunt and Compton Ross for Head Gear Films, with Hilary Davis, and Stephen Kelliher for Bankside Films

Writer-director Butler’s previous credits include The Stag andHandsome Devil – the latter was picked up by Netflix.

“In 2018 the world is on fire, and the very notion of friendship across the lines in America now feels under the greatest threat. As such, maybe it is a good time to bring a buddy movie about two men from very different places into American cinemas,” commented the director.

“John Butler directed a meaningful film that perfectly balances the humour in a new relationship between two people from completely different cultures,” commented a Blue Fox representative.

Bankside’s AFM slate also includes Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn’s Normal People, and Adam Randall’s I See You.