Variety is reporting that IFC Films has acquired the North American distribution rights to David Freyne’s feature directorial debut The Cured, following its successful premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Cured, which is written by Freyne, is set following the outbreak of an aggressive virus and sees a young woman wake in a hospital bed. As the horrifying events that led to her being there are revealed, it becomes clear that the cure is just the beginning. Society has divided into those who were once infected and committed terrible violent acts, and those who never contracted the virus. In the backdrop, the rise of a terrorist movement, fuelled by the deep divisions, threatens to plunge the region into chaos again.
Hollywood star Ellen Page stars in the lead role, alongside Sam Keeley (The Other Side of Sleep, Monsters: Dark Continent), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Love/Hate, The Secret Scripture), Paula Malcolmson (Ray Donovan, The Hunger Games), and Stuart Graham (Hunger, The Fall).
Rachael O’Kane and Rory Dungan produce for Dublin-based Tilted Pictures, with Page producing also. The film is co-produced with French-based Bac Films, with the assistance of Savage Productions. Financing for the film comes from the Irish Film Board (IFB), Northern Ireland Screen, and Bac Films. Principal photography took place with DoP Piers McGrail in Dublin and Wicklow last November and December.
The deal is reported to have been in the seven-figure range, and will see the film receive a theatrical release in the spring of 2018. Over the weekend the film also secured deals for Greece (Spentzos), Turkey (Filmdom), the Middle East (Falcon), Hong Kong (Bravos), Malaysia and Indonesia (Tanweer), Singapore (Shaw), Taiwan (Caichang), Thailand (Sahamongkol), Vietnam (Skyline), and Philippines (Silverline). Producers Bac Films represented the film in these deals, along with WME and CAA for North America.
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor in The Third Wave © Tilted Pictures