K Period Media to Produce Gay Conversion Therapy Drama (EXCLUSIVE)

K Period Media, the upstart production company behind the Oscars darling “Manchester by the Sea,” will be producing and financing a drama about gay conversion therapy, Variety has learned.

The project, “Conversion,” will center on a religious Midwestern family, grappling with the sexual orientation of its son. The film is told through the perspective of the mother, with a meaty role for its lead actress.

Gabriel Ripstein, who won best first feature at the Berlin Film Festival for “600 Miles,” will direct the picture. The script by Marissa Jo Cerar (“Shots Fired”) appeared on the Black List in 2012.

The movie will be produced by K Period Media’s head Kimberly Steward, Lauren Beck and Josh Godfrey. Robbie Brenner (“Dallas Buyer’s Club”) is also producing. Kevin McKeon will serve as executive producer.

Since making a splash at Sundance in 2016 with its debut feature “Manchester by the Sea,” which went on to receive six Oscar nominations, K Period Media has become one of the buzziest new producing houses in town for prestige pictures. The company is also co-financing Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming remake of the horror thriller “Suspiria” with Amazon Studios.

WME’s Graham Taylor is representing the feature.

Gay conversion therapy, the controversial idea that someone’s sexual orientation can be changed through a doctor’s intervention, has been a hot-button issue in the news. Several states have started to ban the practice, which has been discredited by the medical community.

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