A24 nabs Sundance winner Chad Hartigan’s “Morris From America”

PanARMENIAN.Net - A24 has acquired domestic rights to Chad Hartigan’s “Morris From America”, which stars Craig Robinson and newcomer Markees Christmas, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.

The nearly seven-figure deal will fall under A24’s pact with DirecTV, which recently released the company’s Garrett Hedlund-Oscar Isaac thriller “Mojave.”

“Morris From America” follows Morris (Christmas), a 13-year-old African-American boy and the relationship he has with his father Curtis (Robinson) during the transitional period of adolescence. Complicating matters, they are new residents of Heidelberg, Germany — a city of rich history but little diversity. Morris falls in love with a local German girl named Katrin, and his tumultuous connection with her takes him on a journey that ends in self-discovery and a new dynamic to his relationship with Curtis.

Lina Keller co-stars as Katrin, while Carla Juri (“Wetlands”) also appears in the film, which was produced by Adele Romanski, Martin Heisler, Sara Murphy and Gabriele Simon.

“Morris From America” debuted Friday afternoon at the Eccles to largely positive reviews.

Hartigan’s second feature, “This Is Martin Bonner,” premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best of NEXT. Hartigan was also awarded the John Cassavetes Award at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.

UTA negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.