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*Magnolia Pictures has picked up worldwide rights to Jason Mitchell’s film “Tyrel,” about what happens to the lone black man at an all-white, dude-bro party in the Catskills.
Written and directed by Sebastian Silva, the drama has Tyler (Mitchell) feeling very uncomfortable as the only African American at the weekend getaway, where the combination of testosterone and a lot of alcohol starts to get out of hand.
The ensemble cast includes Michael Cera, Chris Abbott, Ann Dowd, and Caleb Landry Jones. Silva also acted as producer, along with Max Born and Jacob Wasserman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tyrel first premiered at this year’s Sundance Film festival, with THR’s review noting that “Jason Mitchell excels in a psychologically tricky part.” Variety’s review of the film called it: “Not an especially pointed commentary about race or anything else,” but the “lively, unpleasant seriocomedy nonetheless does very well at capturing the queasiness of being alone and uneasy at a party you immediately know you won’t fit into. That’s not a sensation anybody relishes experiencing — on- or off-screen.”
The Magnolia deal was negotiated by UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers. Magnolia is looking to sell international rights at Cannes.
“We’re excited to have such a collaborative and creative distribution partner on board so that this film gets seen by as many people as possible,” said Silva. “We believe the movie is timely and are hopeful that it will help continue to move the race conversation forward.”
