‘Sell/Buy/Date,’ From Executive Producer Meryl Streep, Sells to Cinedigm Following SXSW Debut (EXCLUSIVE)
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Cinedigm has landed North American rights to “Sell/Buy/Date,” a playful and provocative film about the sex industry. Meryl Streep executive produced the movie, which debuted at this year’s SXSW Film Festival in Austin.
“Sell/Buy/Date” is set to be released theatrically this fall in the hopes that the film can garner awards attention. After playing in theaters, it will stream exclusively on Fandor with a wider digital release to follow.
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Broadway veteran Sarah Jones (“Bridge & Tunnel”) directed the film in her feature debut. Based on her 2016 off-Broadway play, “Sell/Buy/Date” is at once a documentary and a narrative feature. Jones stars as herself, along with four different roles that include a young college student and an 80-something grandmother. In the film, Jones and her characters travel from Los Angeles and Las Vegas across the country to New York City to navigate the sex industry’s relationship with race, power and economics. “Sell/Buy/Date” also features interviews and cameos from Rosario Dawson, Bryan Cranston and Ilana Glazer.
“I want the whole world to know about Sarah Jones. I think she’s an extraordinary artist — a once in a lifetime artist,” said Streep, who also produced Jones’ one-woman Broadway show “Bridge & Tunnel.”
In addition to Jones, “Sell/Buy/Date” was produced by David Goldblum and Julie Parker Benello, with a story written by Jones and Goldblum. Executive producers also include Regina K. Scully, Gigi Pritzker, Abby Pucker, Robina Riccitiello, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, Pamela Shifman, Meadow Fund and S. Mona Sinha.
Several production companies — Foment Productions, Conscious Contact Entertainment, Secret Sauce Media, Artemis Rising Foundation, JustFilms/Ford Foundation and InMaat Foundation — backed the film, which was launched via the SFFILM Invest program.
“‘Sell/Buy/Date’ is more dynamic and innovative than your typical documentary, using thoughtfully scripted characters and unexpected levity to help us engage with heavy subject matter,” said Aaron Hillis, director of programming for Cinedigm. “Sarah Jones gives a voice to those within an industry that most people would shy away from, proving her fearlessness as a storyteller.”
The deal was negotiated by Brandon Hill, Manager of Acquisitions, on behalf of Cinedigm, and UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.
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