Both “Tell It to the Bees” and “The Chambermaid” made their world premieres at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival in September, and now the women-directed pics have secured North American distribution.

Good Deed Entertainment snagged rights to Annabel Jankel’s “Tell It to the Bees” from Film Constellation, Variety confirms. Based on Fiona Shaw’s novel of the same name and set in 1952, the drama stars Anna Paquin (“True Blood”) and Holliday Grainger (“The Borgias”), and follows a doctor’s journey back to her hometown, where she finds herself drawn to the mother of one of her patients.

“I found the book to be an unexpected page-turner and was intrigued by all of the characters that made up a small town in post-war Britain,” Jankel told us. “I was fascinated by the clash of class relations and gender that existed. It was a microcosm of wider society, in which homosexuality between men was a criminal offense in the United Kingdom. If it was between women, if even conceivable, the concept was considered simply reprehensible.”

Kino Lorber acquired rights to “The Chambermaid,” Lila Aviles’ feature debut. A theatrical release is planned for summer 2019, according to Variety. The portrait of a single mother working as a maid (Gabriela Cartol, “I Dream in Another Language”) in Mexico City recently won Best Film and the Warrior of the Press awards at Morelia International Film Festival.

“I would say that ‘The Chambermaid’ is a subtle and feminine Mexican film with a strong principal character,” Aviles told us. “It speaks to absence, resilience, and the search for identity.”

“Using an incredible economy of means, Avilés makes palpable the inner life of an irrepressible soul imbued with dignity by actress Gabriela Cartol, who gives an unforgettable performance,” said Wendy Lidell, senior vice president of Kino Lorber. “‘The Chambermaid’ gives new meaning, with a feminist twist, to our idea of the working class hero.”