New York-based distribution company Film Movement has picked up North American rights to Ivano De Matteo’s The Dinner in Rome this week. Based on the best-selling Dutch novel by Herman Koch, the title took home the Best European Film award at Venice Days. Cate Blanchett is rumored to be making her directorial debut with an English-language adaptation of the book, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The Italian adaptation stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Luigi Lo Cascio and Alessandro Gassman, and chronicles a dinner party gone horribly wrong. Two well-to-do couples who seem to have it all begrudgingly endure a posh monthly dinner together. After seeing security footage of a vicious assault on a homeless woman, one of the couples fears their teenage son may be behind the horrible attack, and the repercussions reveal the cracks in their privileged, insulated lives.

The Hollywood Reporter called the film “impressive ... the way in which the film keeps suggesting new gray areas and adds shading through dialogue exchanges is remarkable and sustained throughout.” Film Movement’s co-president Michael Rosenberg finalized the deal at the Rome Film Festival’s Business Street with Bruce Rabinowitz at RAI.

“Ivano de Matteo has made a tremendous adaptation of the controversial best-selling book. He has created, together with his wonderful cast, a tense look at the relationships among parents and children, and the morality of contemporary middle-class society,” said Rosenberg. “This film will spark conversations between filmgoers, and we look forward to bringing it to North American audiences, including the many fans of Herman Koch’s book.”

Film Movement specializes in theatrical, on demand, and home video platforms in the U.S. They’ve released over 250 films from 50 countries on six continents. Another recent addition, Human Capital, is an Italian adaptation of the popular book by Stephen Amidon. The thriller also examines the lives of rich and poor in depressed Italy, and is the country’s official submission to the Academy Awards for best foreign-language feature this year.

The Dinner will have a theatrical release in 2015.