Julia Leigh’s SLEEPING BEAUTY Acquired By IFC’s Sundance Selects

IFC’s Sundance Selects has acquired the U.S. rights to SLEEPING BEAUTY, the Julia Leigh-directed Cannes Film Festival which premiered May 11th. The film stars Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll, Chris Haywood, and was produced by Jessica Brentnall.

“You will go to sleep: you will wake up. It will be as if those hours never existed.” Death-haunted, quietly reckless, Lucy is a young university student who takes a job as a Sleeping Beauty. In the Sleeping Beauty Chamber old men seek an erotic experience that requires Lucy’s absolute submission. This unsettling task starts to bleed into Lucy’s daily life and she develops an increasing need to know what happens to her when she is asleep.

Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects, said: “For the last 5 days, people throughout Cannes have been discussing SLEEPING BEAUTY. We are thrilled to introduce Julia Leigh and her arresting debut to American audiences, and to continuing the discussion.”

According to Deadline, UTA brokered the deal with Sundance Selects acquisitions exec Arianna Bocco. UTA reps Leigh and Browning, with the latter managed by Michael Aglion and Catherine Poulton in Australia.