In the second preemptive buy of the festival, Anchor Bay Films has snapped up rights for North America, the UK and Australia to the genre tale from AKA Pictures, XYZ Films and Brooklyn Reptyle. Celluloid Nightmares handles international sales.

Anchor Bay acquired theatrical, home entertainment, television and digital rights to Calvin Lee Reeder’s film, which is set to premiere on Jan 21 and is based on his short film of the same name that screened at Sundance and SXSW in 2008.

In-demand Dermot Mulroney stars in the story of a man released from prison who stumbles upon a mystery as he treks through hostile territory to reconnect with his estranged brother. Lindsay Pulsipher and Natasha Lyonne round out the key cast.

XYZ Films co-founder Nate Bolotin produced alongside Brooklyn Reptyle Films’ Roger M Mayer and Christo Dimassis. Clayton Young of Benaroya Pictures produced on behalf of AKA Pictures with James Lesjek.  

The Rambler is an AKA Pictures presentation and Michael Benaroya financed through his genre label AKA Pictures. AKA/Benaroya Pictures head of production Joe Jenckes served as executive producer with his Bow Street Films partner David Dickson under a new partnership between AKA and Bow Street. XYZ Films co-founders Nick Spicer and Aram Tertzakian also served as executive producers.

Kevin Kasha and Marc Barson of Anchor Bay Films brokered the deal with Bolotin.

Earlier in the month Open Road Films struck a US distribution deal with the producers of the Sundance closing night film, jOBS.