Sian Heder’s feature directorial debut "Talluhlah" has found a home prior to its world premiere at Sundance just over a week away. Netflix is reported to have spent somewhere in the mid-seven figures range to secure worldwide streaming video-on-demand rights.
The dramedy stars Ellen Page as a drifter who decides to "rescue" a toddler from a negligent mother — an act that is, of course, a crime known as kidnapping. She finds sanctuary in the home of her boyfriend’s mother (Allison Janney), who believes that the baby is in fact her grandchild.
Heder previously worked as a writer and producer on "Orange Is the New Black." "Mother," her first short film, took home honors from the Cannes Film Festival, the Seattle Film Festival and the Florida Film Festival.
In an upcoming interview with Women and Hollywood, Heder explained that her experiences working as a nanny in high-end hotels inspired the story of "Tallulah." She was "so disturbed by the erratic behavior of a particular mother" that she "seriously considered taking off with the kid."
"Sian Heder is an exciting new voice in cinema and I am so proud to see her work continue from writing on the groundbreaking ‘Orange is the New Black’ to writing and directing this heartfelt crowd-pleasing film ‘Tallulah,’" commented Russell Levine, CEO of Route One Entertainment, which produced the film. "Audiences worldwide are now going to be able to see Sian’s amazing growth as an artist through the support of Netflix."
"Tallulah" will debut at Sundance on January 23.
[via Variety]
