News

The Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain recently concluded its awards ceremony, handing out prizes to films that used elements of different genres to explore meaningful social and political issues. The festival, which ran from October 18th to the 26th, recognizes innovative works that push creative boundaries in cinema.

French director Alain Guiraudie’s film “Misericordia” took home both the Golden Spike for best picture and Miguel Delibes screenplay award. According to the jury, the film balances genres and tones in a simple yet complex way. Beneath the surface of a small-town thriller and comedy lies a profound meditation on how desire and guilt impact human relationships.

Two Silver Spikes were also awarded, split between “Stranger Eyes” from Singapore and Spanish film “They Will Be Dust.” “Stranger Eyes” examines surveillance and isolation through its genre storytelling. “They Will Be Dust” presented the serious topic of euthanasia in a unique musical format.

Alain Guiraudie’s “Misericordia,” Carlos Marqués-Marcet “They Will be Dust” and Yeo Siew Hua’s “Stranger Eyes” all won big at Spain’s auteurist haven Valladolid Film Festival on Saturday, in a second edition under José Luis Cienfuegos whose prizes served as a vindication of the changes he has wrought at the festival as well as an indication of some ways European arthouse is going.

All three directors’ awards build on prior upbeat reception. Playing Cannes Premiere, “Misericordia,” which scooped Valladolid’s best picture Golden Spike and its screenplay trophy, was hailed by Variety as a “darkly comic backwoods fable of pansexual desire and small-town sociopathy” which marks a “welcome re-embrace of the streamlined murdery perversities of his terrific ‘Stranger by the Lake.'”

The Valladolid jury, made up of Greek director Sofia Exarchou, Spanish actress Aida Folch, critic and editor Devika Girish, German producer Ingmar Trost and Spanish director and writer Luis López Carrasco,...

The 2024 edition of the Valladolid International Film Week, also known as Seminci, wrapped on Saturday (October 26), giving its top award, the Golden Spike, to Misericordia by Alain Guiraudie.

Misericordia tells the story of a man who returns to his hometown for the funeral of his former boss, the village baker, and decides to stay for a few days with the man’s widow, getting involved in a series of unexpected events.

Guiraudie also won the best screenplay award.

The members of the Valladolid jury, Greek director Sofía Exarchou; Spanish actress Aida Folch; American critic Devika Girish; Spanish filmmaker Luis López Carrasco...

The first-ever Tribeca Festival Lisboa has been years in the making — and is far from the first stop on Tribeca’s international tour to foster rising filmmakers.

The inaugural Tribeca Festival Lisboa will take place from October 17 to 19 in Lisbon, Portugal, and brings the best of this year’s U.S.-based indies abroad. The eight U.S. films curated for the festival range from Nicholas Colia’s “Griffin in Summer,” Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning feature “Anora,” Sundance breakout “In the Summers,” and the heart-wrenching SXSW drama “Bob Trevino Likes It.” “Ezra,” “Jazzy,” “A Bronx Tale, The Original One Man Show,” and “Group Therapy” round out the lineup, with most filmmakers participating in post-screening panels. Festival co-founder Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg, Patty Jenkins, and Griffin Dunne additionally will lead featured talks.

And Tribeca Festival Lisboa also spotlights Portuguese films and TV series, ranging from the highly-anticipated show...

In 1999, Orange County natives Gregg Schwenk and Todd Quartararo were working in the corporate sector but shared a love for cinema and producing events. They looked around their seaside locale and saw potential. “A beautiful coastal setting, surrounded by a vibrant business community and enthusiastic filmgoers, combined with our proximity to the film industry epicenter made Newport Beach the ideal place to launch an international film festival and build a world class event,” says Schwenk.

From those humble beginnings, Schwenk became the founder and CEO of the Newport Beach Film Festival, which has since become an internationally recognized event. This year, Newport celebrates its 25th anniversary during its Oct. 17-24 run. It’s also become a stop along the awards campaign trail for Oscar hopefuls and a way to celebrate some of the biggest names in the industry. This year’s honorees include Oscar-winners Nicolas Cage and Christoph Waltz and Academy Award nominees June Squibb,...

Carlos Marques-Marcet’s Toronto-winning musical drama They Will Be Dust, will open the 69th edition of the Valladolid International Film Week, also known as the Seminci, on October 18.

The end of life drama starring Alfredo Castro and Angela Molina won the Platform section at TIFF last month.

Valladolid, headed by José Luis Cienfuegos for a second year, is a key launchpad into the Spanish market for local and international films.

There are a total of 22 titles in the running for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Spike that comes with a €70,000 award for the Spanish distributor. The Silver Spike...

The 32nd Hamptons International Film Festival (Hiff) has officially unveiled its 2024 winners.

The festival, which took place from October 4 through October 14, marked the U.S. premiere of John Crowley’s “We Live in Time,” with screenings of “Nightbitch,” “A Real Pain,” “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” and R.J. Cutler’s Martha Stewart Netflix documentary “Martha” among the acclaimed features.

Now, IndieWire can exclusively announce the films that the Hiff jury and audience members selected for the top awards. “Armand,” also Norway’s 2025 Oscar submission, won the Hiff Award for Best Narrative Feature. “Armand” stars “A Different Man” and “Worst Person in the World” breakout Renate Reinsve as a mother of a seemingly disturbed six-year-old; the film debuted at Cannes before screening at Hiff. “Armand” is directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, the grandson of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman. IFC Films has U.S. distribution rights for “Armand.”

“’Armand’ is...

The Tribeca Festival Lisboa has revealed the line-up for its inaugural edition, which takes place in Lisbon from October 17-19.

The Portuguese off-shoot of the New York-based Tribeca Festival has programmed a mix of US independent films, Portuguese features, series, podcasts and music showcases.

It also has live talks with talent including Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg, Patty Jenkins, Griffin Dunne and Chazz Palminteri.

Tribeca Festival Lisboa will showcase eight US films, including festival prize winners such as Nicholas Colia’s Griffin in Summer, Sean Baker’s Anora, Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s In the Summers and Tracie Laymon’s Bob Trevino Likes It.

Dda, the corporate communications and content publicity firm, has made key hires to expand its east coast operation.

Katie Conklin of 42West has been named the head of a new Domestic Film & Series Publicity division as senior account director. Madison Tobin, also from 42West, joins as senior account executive and will act as counterpart to West Coast division heads Sara Tehrani and KatieJo Ash.

“Katie’s breadth of knowledge and experience coupled with her passion for cinematic storytelling, equips her to build and lead a team on the East Coast with Madison. It’s the perfect complement to our existing practices in Los Angeles and London and positions Dda as the premiere global agency choice for studios, streamers and independents,” said agency partner Dana Archer on behalf of the company’s board.

Over eight years in her previous gig, Conklin devised publicity campaigns for series including “The Boys,” “The Conners...

The Virginia Film Festival is kicking off its 37th year with a lineup featuring a couple of Cannes winners that are now taking the fall festival circuit by storm.

Located in Charlottesville, and set for October 30 through November 3, the festival has chosen Sean Baker’s “Anora” as its Opening Night Film. The dramedy, which stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn sex worker who enters into a whirlwind romance with the son of a Russian oligarch, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was a runner-up for the coveted People’s Choice Award at TIFF. In addition to special guests from the cast set to be in attendance, Tom Quinn, Founder and CEO of Neon, the film’s distributor, will be on hand to receive the inaugural Impresario Award on behalf of the company.

For the Centerpiece Film, the festival has programmed Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” which has had...

Peter Sarsgaard, the veteran character actor who has received some of the best notices of his career this year for his performance on the Apple TV+ drama series Presumed Innocent and in the Paramount film September 5, will receive the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Film Performance of the Year Award and record an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast live in front of a festival audience, Nbff announced on Tuesday.

Sarsgaard’s award presentation and podcast recording will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 23, during the 25th edition of Nbff, which will run Oct. 17-24.

The fest also announced its film lineup, which includes 112 films from 19 countries, including 16 world premieres, 10 U.S. premieres, 16 North American premieres, 13 West Coast premieres and 10 Southern California Premieres

This year’s Nbff will open on Oct. 17 with the world premiere of Simon West’s Old Guy, with West and star Chrostoph Waltz in attendance,...

The 25th Woodstock Film Festival will feature a lineup of world, North American and U.S. premieres, joining acclaimed fiction and nonfiction films from Sean Baker, Steve McQueen, Alexis Bloom, Raoul Peck, Marielle Heller, Jesse Eisenberg, Jacques Audiard and many more.

The festival, which runs from October 15-20 in the Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rosendale, Kingston and Saugerties, will see writer-director Paul Schrader receive the Honorary Maverick Award. His latest, Oh, Canada, starring Richard Gere, Uma Thurman and Jacob Elordi, will screen at Woodstock. Filmmaker Ira Deutchman will be presented with the Honorary Trailblazer Award; Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís will receive the inaugural Art of Activism Award. [Scroll for the full lineup]

McQueen’s Blitz, starring Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan, serves as Woodstock’s centerpiece film. Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, starring the Oscar-nominated actor and Kieran Culkin, closes the silver jubilee edition of Woodstock. Sean Baker’s Anora heads to...

The Tribeca Festival is officially going international.

IndieWire can confirm that the inaugural Tribeca Festival Lisboa will take place from October 17 to 19 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Tribeca Festival Lisboa lineup has been unveiled, featuring the Portuguese premieres of “Anora,” “Ezra,” “Jazzy,” and “Group Therapy.”

Tribeca Festival Lisboa will showcase eight U.S. films, including top winners from Tribeca 2024 such as Nicholas Colia’s “Griffin in Summer,” Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning feature “Anora,” Sundance breakout “In the Summers,” and the heart-wrenching SXSW drama “Bob Trevino Likes It.”

The international premiere of “A Bronx Tale, The Original One Man Show” followed by a talkback with writer, director, and star Chazz Palminteri will also take place.

A special screening of the highly-anticipated Portuguese series “Azul,” César Mourão’s feature narrative “Podia Ter Esperado Por Agosto,” the world premiere of “Unicorn,” and screenings of short films such as “Era Uma Vez No Apocalipse,...

Tribeca Enterprises has unveiled the lineup for the inaugural edition of Tribeca Festival Lisboa with the first European iteration of the NYC fest set to unspool in the Portuguese capital October 17-19 with a mix of U.S. indies, Portuguese films, series, podcasts and talks with international and local luminaries.

U.S. features hitting Lisbon include winners from the 2024 festival circuit Anora (Cannes), Griffin in Summer (Tribeca Festival), In the Summers (Sundance)and Bob Trevino Likes It (SXSW) as well as Portuguese rising talent with César Mourão’s feature narrative Podia Ter Esperado Por Agosto, anticipated series Azul, and short films O Afinador de Silêncios, Era Uma Vez No Apocalipse and Os Sonhos Continuam.

“Lisbon was recently recognized as the most innovative city in Europe, surpassing more than 250 cities — a milestone few thought possible,” said Mayor Carlos Moedas, thanking Tribeca co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal for acknowledging “the...

‘Bob Trevino Likes It’ y ‘Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point’ competirán por la Espiga de Oro. © Seminci

La Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid (Seminci), que se celebra del 18 al 26 de octubre, ha anunciado nuevas incorporaciones a su programación.

Dos nuevos títulos se han añadido a la competición por la Espiga de Oro: Bob Trevino Likes It y Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.

Bob Trevino Likes It, dirigida por Tracie Laymon, está protagonizada por John Leguizamo y Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria). La película sigue a una joven solitaria, separada de un padre narcisista y manipulador, que encuentra consuelo emocional conectando a través de Facebook con un hombre que comparte el nombre de su padre. Este filme recibió el Gran Premio del Jurado y el Premio del Público en el South by Southwest Film Festival.

También a competición en la Seminci está Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, segundo largometraje de Tyler Taormina,...

Myriad Pictures has closed another raft of territory deals on SXSW audience and grand jury award winner Bob Trevino Likes It, licensing rights in the UK, Australia, and Spain as sales talks continue in Toronto.

‘Bob Trevino Likes It’: SXSW Review

The comedy drama starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo has gone to Vertigo in the UK, Rialto in Australia and New Zealand, and A Contracorriente Films in Spain.

Bob Trevino Likes It centres on a young woman who searches for her estranged father online and bonds with a grieving, childless man with the same name.

Tracie Laymon wrote...

Roadside Attractions has acquired SXSW Audience Award and Grand Jury Award Winner “Bob Trevino Likes It” starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo, the distributor announced on Friday.

Written and directed by Tracie Laymon and inspired by her search for her estranged father online, the film will open only in theatres early 2025. Myriad Pictures will also be handling international sales.

“Bob Trevino Likes It” also stars French Stewart, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer and Rachel Bay Jones.

The film’s official synopsis is as follows: Often playing the role of caretaker to people like her father who should be caring for her, Lily Trevino (Ferreira) longs for a familial connection, having been abandoned by her mother as a child and then suddenly by her father in her twenties.

Bob Trevino (Leguizamo) works long hours alone at a construction company to support his wife Jeanie’s scrapbooking habit. The couple has endured a lot in the past decade,...

The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) has Wednesday announced its full film program, including special presentations, official selections, and more for its 55th edition, running September 19-25 throughout the city. The selection includes more than 150 films, including 47 feature-length titles and more than 33 U.S., North American, and world premieres. As previously announced, a special opening night double-feature will include “Devo” and “Revel Country,” with “This Is a Film About the Black Keys” closing the festival.

Following the special opening night double-feature screening on September 19, additional notable festival presentations include: Netflix’s “Will & Harper” stars Will Ferrell and his friend Harper Steele, who recently came out as a trans woman, on a road trip to process this new phase of their friendship; Apple Original Films’ “The Last of the Sea Women,” a documentary produced by A24 and executive produced by Malala Yousafzai, follows an extraordinary band of feisty grandmother warriors as...

The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards.

The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.

Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.

In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...

John Leguizamo is reflecting on the roles that got away.

In an interview with Business Insider, the actor was asked about movies he’s turned down that he now regrets. “Oh yeah, The Devil Wears Prada, the Stanley Tucci part [as Nigel],” Leguizamo revealed.

Other roles he regrets saying no to were parts in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Happy Feet.

“I had my reasons,” said Leguizamo. “I mean, they’re stupid, but I had my reasons.”

When asked to elaborate further, he explained that he turned down the role of Brad Pitt’s character’s best friend, Eddie, in Mr. and Mrs. Smith because Pitt and Angelina Jolie were each getting $20 million while he would be paid on scale. “I felt dissed, and they probably weren’t dissing me, but I felt dissed,” he said.

Leguizamo continued, “Sometimes when you’re a person of color, you’re so used to being...

Emmy and Tony winner John Leguizamo has been tapped to star alongside Taron Egerton in Apple’s upcoming drama series Firebug, from Apple Studios and creator Dennis Lehane. Additionally, Emmy-nominated and BAFTA-winning director Kari Skogland will direct and serve as executive producer.

Written by Lehane and loosely inspired by true events, Firebug will follow a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator (Egerton) as they pursue the trails of two serial arsonists.

Leguizamo with play Esposito, a former policeman with a lot of bad habits and a lot of good instincts.

Previously announced Jurnee Smollett also stars.

In addition to starring, Egerton will serve as executive producer alongside Richard Plepler through Eden Productions, Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas through Imperative Entertainment and Kary Antholis.

Firebug is the latest project hailing from Apple Studios and produced by Imperative Entertainment, joining Black Bird,...

SXSW organizers on Monday announced the Audience Award winners for the festival’s recently wrapped 31st edition.

The list includes Tracie Laymon’s dramedy Bob Trevino Likes It, which prevailed in Narrative Feature Competition, and the action thriller Monkey Man marking Dev Patel’s directorial debut, which dominated the Headliner section. Other notable winners included A24’s Sing Sing starring Colman Domingo, which won out in Festival Favorite, and Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ dark veteran dramedy My Dead Friend Zoe, starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales and Ed Harris, which won in Narrative Spotlight.

“We are beyond grateful to all our filmmakers, audiences, and volunteers for creating one of the most exciting SXSW Film & TV Festivals ever,” said Claudette Godfrey, VP Film & TV. “We knew our audiences would flip for our program filled with explosive studio films, surprising indie dramas and comedies, riveting TV, powerful documentaries, gripping gems from around the world, and groundbreaking Xr,...

Austin, TX – The 2024Sxsw Conference and Festivals wrapped on March 16th, after nine days of magic and Austin wackiness, showcasing film, TV, interactive, conferences, interviews and music. The Film & TV Fest named “Bob Trevino Likes It” as the top Narrative Feature and “Marvin is Sorry” as top TV Pilot.

The Narrative Jury included Chicago critic Robert Daniels. The Jury’s statement about “Bob Trevino Likes It” was “Tracie Laymon’s semi-autobiographical story of a struggling young woman who finds anchor in an unlikely connection feels at once familiar and yet surprising. Laymon’s sure hand transforms what might have been saccharine into something raw thanks to vulnerable lead performances from Barbie Ferreira and an unusually uncool John Leguizamo. Refreshingly real and wrenchingly bittersweet, “Bob Trevino Likes It” stole our hearts and earned this prize.”

The following is the list of top honorees …

Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Feature

Bob Trevino Likes It

Photo credit: SXSW.

While there are still several days of buzzy film premieres remaining at SXSW 2024, all of the films playing in competition have screened for audiences and critics. The film festival’s jury announced the winners of the festival’s major awards on Thursday, giving out prizes for narrative feature, documentary feature, and a variety of short, episodic, and Xr categories.

The narrative feature competition was won by “Bob Trevino Likes It,” Tracie Laymon’s dramedy that stars Barbie Ferreira as a young woman who seeks to heal wounds from her relationship with her abusive father by befriending an unrelated man with the exact same name (John Leguizamo).

The top documentary prize went to Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls’ groundbreaking documentary “Grand Theft Hamlet,” which followed a group of actors staging a production of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” inside “Grand Theft Auto Online” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keep reading for a complete list...

Jim Broadbent, Jamie Demetriou, Eve Hewson and Greta Gerwig are among a large cast influx joining Noah Baumbach’s upcoming untitled feature at Netflix.

Also joining the previously announced George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup and Riley Keough are Lars Eidnger, Grace Edwards, Patsy Ferran, Thaddea Graham, Josh Hamilton, Isla Fisher, Stacy Keach, Nicôle Lecky, Emily Mortimer, Louis Partridge, Alba Rohrwacher, Charlie Rowe, and Patrick Wilson.

Baumbach and Mortimer are co-writing the drama and Baumbach, Amy Pascal, and David Heyman serve as producers.

Plot points remain under wrap.

Baumbach has an exclusive deal with Netflix, with who he previously directed Marriage Story,...

The South by Southwest Film & TV Festival has announced the 2024 Jury and Special Award winners.

This year’s narrative feature competition winner was “Bob Trevino Likes It,” which was directed and written by Tracie Laymon and stars Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo. Meanwhile, “Grand Theft Hamlet” topped the documentary feature competition.

“What an extraordinary week of film and TV premieres we’ve had here at SXSW, and there is more to come through Saturday,” said Claudette Godfrey, VP, Film & TV. “Our theaters have been bursting with incredible and vocal audiences celebrating the exceptional and diverse work in our lineup, and we’re so excited to celebrate this year’s jury and special award winners!”

The Audience Award voting will conclude on Saturday, March 16, and winners will be announced that week.

See the complete list of winners below.

Feature Film Grand Jury Awards

Narrative Feature Competition

Winner: “Bob Trevino Likes It”

Director/Screenwriter: Tracie Laymon,...

Writer-director Tracie Laymon has a lot of Bobs in her life.

First, there was Bob Laymon, her father.

“In 2012, I was looking for my dad,” she says. “He would just feel disrespected for even the most minor infractions, and he’d disappear for a year or two and not talk to me. So I put his name into Facebook and saw this little tiny picture. I friended him and woke up to ‘Bob Laymon likes it.’ I was like, ‘My dad likes something of mine! We’re back! It’s gonna be okay.'”

It wasn’t okay yet. This was a second Bob Laymon.

“It was a stranger in Wichita, Kansas,” Laymon says, “who continued to be more fatherly to me than my dad ever was — he filled the void. He had such access to my heart because of his name. My dad never wrote me happy birthday, but...

Exclusive: Ahead of the SXSW debut of her first solo feature Bob Trevino Likes It, filmmaker Tracie Laymon has taken on new management at Artists First.

Premiering in Narrative Feature Competition on March 9th, Laymon’s dramedy follows a people-pleasing young woman (Barbie Ferreira) who sends her estranged and curmudgeonly father (French Stewart) a Facebook friend request, only to unwittingly befriend a grieving man with the same name (John Leguizamo). She wrote, directed, and produced the pic, which draws heavily from her own life and also stars Lauren “Lolo” Spencer and Rachel Bay Jones.

A Texas native, Laymon spent some of her formative teen years in Russia before returning to the States for college, where she began directing short films. Since then, her directorial projects have won numerous accolades, including a jury prize at SXSW and Best Director awards at Women Texas Film Festival, the Seattle Film Festival, and The Method Fest in Beverly Hills.

March fest announces multiple competition sections.

SXSW announced on Wednesday that Netflix series 3 Body Problem from Game Of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss is the festival’s opening night TV premiere, while Universal’s action comedy The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt is the centrepiece screening.

Top brass at the Austin, Texas, festival (March 8-16) also unveiled feature and short competitions and Midnighters and Global sections, as well as select titles from other categories and Xr Experience for the 31st edition.

Headliners selections include world premieres of Pamela Adlon’s Babes starring Ilana Glazer,...

Our first look at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV festival lineup has officially been unveiled, and will open with the highly-anticipated Netflix series “3 Body Problem,” co-created by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo, screening Opening Night as a TV premiere. On the film front, David Leitch’s Ryan Gosling-starring actioner “The Fall Guy” is set as the fest’s Centerpiece screening.

This year’s festival runs from March 8 – 16 in Austin, Texas. Claudette Godfrey, VP of Film & TV, teased the 2024 slate in an official statement: “Buckle up, folks! The first wave of our spectacular lineup for SXSW 2024 is here. Brace yourselves for an epic mix of films, TV, and Xr experiences that will deliver a high-octane blend of entertainment and inspiration to our legendary audiences. We’re excited to open our TV Premieres with the must-see ‘3 Body Problem’ and thrilled to welcome ‘The Fall Guy’ as our explosive Centerpiece Screening.

“Bob Trevino Likes It” has wrapped production in Louisville, Ky. and has unveiled its first official photo. Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide sales rights and will launch sales out of Toronto in September. The film is one of the first independent productions to be approved for a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement during the actors strike.

“Bob Trevino Likes It” marks the feature debut for writer and director Tracie Laymon. It stars Barbie Ferreira, best known for her work on “Euphoria,” and John Leguizamo, who was most recently seen in “The Menu” and “John Wick: Chapter 2.” They will appear alongside the previously announced French Stewart (“3rd Rock From the Sun”), Lauren “Lolo” Spencer (“The Sex Lives of College Girls”) and Rachel Bay Jones (“Dear Evan Hansen”).

The movie is inspired by Laymon’s life. It centers around a people-pleasing young woman who, while searching for her estranged father online, unexpectedly forms...