Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker, the unauthorised queer superhero parody set in the DC Universe which was pulled from TIFF 2022 Midnight section over copyright issues, has landed a US distributor.
Los Angeles-based Altered Innocence has acquired North American rights and will release on April 5 at IFC Center in New York with additional markets and engagements to be announced.
The film premiered and screened once at TIFF 2022 before it was pulled from the festival. Warner Bros has never commented publicly on the matter.
Drew stars in the story of an aspiring comedian named Harlequin who lives in a world where comedy has been outlawed. She forms an illegal anti-comedy troupe, setting her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader ruling Gotham City.
The People’s Joker is said to be partly inspired by Drew’s life and stars herself alongside Tim Heidecker, Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford, and Scott Aukerman Lynn Downey, Nathan Faustyn, and Kane Distler.
The US premiere took place at this year’s Outfest LA Film Festival and The People’s Joker went on to play at Fantastic Fest, Denver International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Seattle Queer Film Festival, SXSW Sydney, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Oslo/Fusion, among others.
Drew, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bri LeRose, declared herself “thrilled and humbled”, adding: “It has been a long road freeing The People’s Joker and finding a release plan that rings true to the queer, anarchist spirit we had while making it. What better home than among Altered Innocence’s catalog of gorgeously gay and deliciously edgy films.”
Joey Lyons served as producer and Richie Doyle and Riccardo Maddalosso are the executive producers. The production was financed in part by crowdfunding.
“Vera Drew has taken her own life experiences and traumas to craft an entirely new genre of cinema that blurs the lines between documentary, coming-of-age film, and parody,” said Altered Innocence founder Frank Jaffe. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to champion this bold, intelligent, and hilarious piece of queer cinema that audiences around the globe have fallen in love with.”
Billy Offer of UTA and Lindsay Cohen of Rise Management negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmaker with Jaffe for Altered Innocence.
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