Writer-director Chloe Zhao’s festival gem “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” has been acquired by Kino Lorber.
Made with a largely unprofessional Lakota Native American cast, the drama focuses on an 18-year-old high-school senior in South Dakota who has to ask himself what he wants his future to look like when the sudden death of his father makes him the primary caretaker of his 13-year-old sister.
In an interview with Women and Hollywood, Zhao called her directorial debut a “complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation [that] explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.”
The film screened at Cannes and Sundance and is currently in the running for three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best First Film and Best Cinematography.
“’Songs’ soars with emotional resonances in an infinite landscape,” commented Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber. “We were entranced by Chloe’s characters pursuing their destinies in small but poignant ways against grand cinematic vistas. It’s a film to be cherished and we’re inspired to bring it to audiences nationwide.”
“Songs” will make its theatrical premiere on March 2 at NY’s Film Forum and will be released this spring.
[via Indiewire]