Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to Martha Stephens’ latest, coming-of-age story “To the Stars.” Deadline broke the news.

Written by Stephens and Shannon Bradley-Colleary, “To the Stars” is set in small-town 1960s Oklahoma and centers on Iris (Kara Hayward, “Manchester by the Sea”), a bullied teen with an alcoholic mother (Malin Akerman, “Billions”). “She finds solace in Maggie [Liana Liberato, ‘Light as a Feather’], the charismatic and enigmatic new girl at school, who hones in on Iris’ untapped potential and coaxes her out of her shell,” the source details. “When Maggie’s mysterious past can no longer be suppressed, the tiny community is thrown into a state of panic, leaving Maggie to take potentially drastic measures and inciting Iris to stand up for her friend and herself.”

“To the Stars” made its world premiere at Sundance in January.

“We were taken with the tender relationship between Liana Liberato and Kara Hayward’s characters, as well as the delightful supporting cast of teens and adults that make this a memorable and heartfelt coming-of-age story. Martha Stephens is a visionary director that balances the comedy, drama, and growing pains of growing up,” said Meg Longo of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Stephens added, “Fifteen years ago while I was in film school, the last thing I’d see before shutting my eyes for the night was a poster of David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart’ tacked onto my pockmarked wall. The iconic Samuel Goldwyn logo stamped at the poster’s bottom represented a sort of success that I could only long for at that time. How cool is it to come full circle?”

When we asked Stephens what advice she’d give women directors, she said, “Be kind, but don’t be a doormat. I still struggle daily with not wanting to come across as too sensitive, too opinionated, too negative, too needy, etc.,” she acknowledged.

“Passenger Pigeons,” “Pilgrim Song,” and “Land Ho!” are among Stephens’ previous credits.