Vertical Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Kasra Farahani’s feature film directorial debut “THE WAITING” starring James Caan, Logan Miller, Keir Gilchrist, Laura Innes, and Edwin Hodge. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival, will have a fall 2016 theatrical release. Clay Epstein’s Film Mode Entertainment is selling the international rights to the film in Cannes and is screening the movie for buyers for the first time.
In “THE WAITING”, the experiment started with a simple idea: if you had the equipment and ambition, could you convince another person that they’re being haunted? Through a series of escalating “haunts”, two teenage boys prod an elderly neighbor further and further in order to get a reaction. As their suspicions grow and the tension mounts, they realize too late that the man they’re manipulating is the last person they should’ve chosen for their project.
“James Caan is a force in this inventive thriller and the Vertical team is proud to bring it to US audiences after a successful SXSW,” said Vertical co-President Rich Goldberg.
Star Thrower’s Tim and Trevor White said, “Along with the rest of the team, we are thrilled to partner with Vertical on ‘THE WAITING’. Right from the start, Vertical understood the underlying themes, respected Kasra’s vision, and saw the commercial potential of our film.”
“We’re excited to be presenting such a well-reviewed fantastic festival hit out of SXSW to the international marketplace,” said Clay Epstein, President of Film Mode Entertainment. “With James Caan starring in this captivating, haunting thriller and the response the movie has received to date, we’re certain this commercially viable film will resonate with global audiences and distributors alike.”
THE WAITING was produced by Star Thrower Entertainment, Ball & Chain Productions and Anonymous Content. The producers were Trevor White, Tim White, Giri Tharan, Allan Mandelbaum, Rosalie Swedlin and Elana Barry. The screenplay was written by Mark Bianculli and Jeff Richard.
