In one of the first major acquisition deals ahead of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Searchlight Pictures has acquired the worldwide rights to “Fresh,”Mimi Cave directs this thriller that stars Daisy Edgar Jones and Sebastian Stan.
The film was acquired by Searchlight to be premiered exclusively on Hulu in America. It will also drop on the streamer March 4, following the Sundance premiere earlier this month. It will also debut internationally on Star+ Latin America, and Disney+ in all territories later in the spring.
“Fresh” follows Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who meets the alluring Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a grocery store and – given her frustration with dating apps – takes a chance and gives him her number. After their first date, Noa is smitten and accepts Steve’s invitation to a romantic weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.
“Fresh”Cave makes his feature directorial debut. It’s produced by Adam McKay and Kevin Messick for their Hyperobject Industries banner, and Lauryn Kahn wrote the script. Maeve Cullinane serves as co-producer.
Jojo T. Gibbs (“Twenties”), Charlotte Le Bon (“Anthropoid,” “The Hundred-Foot Journey”), Andrea Bang (“Luce”Dayo Okeniyi and ).“Runner Runner,” “The Spectacular Now”) round out the cast. Pawel Pogorzelski, cinematographer, is part of the crafts team (“Hereditary,” “Midsommar”), editor Martin Pensa (“Wild,” “Dallas Buyers Club”), production designer Jennifer Morden (“Riot Girls”) and composer Alex Somers (“Honey Boy,” “Captain Fantastic”).
“’Fresh’ upends all romance tropes and boldly comments on the precarious nature of the modern dating experience,”Matthew Greenfield, Searchlight President, and David Greenbaum stated this in a statement. “Mimi Cave has brilliantly brought Lauryn Kahn’s razor sharp script to the screen, and gives audiences something they will savor from beginning to end.”
“’Fresh’ is a wildly allegorical story, yet the film carries strings of truth throughout that I hope resonate for different audiences,”Cave added. “I’m so pleased to be working with the Searchlight team to bring our film to the world and can’t wait for people to see the brilliant performances Daisy and Sebastian give.”
Ben Wilkinson (VP Business Affairs) negotiated the Searchlight Pictures and Legendary Entertainment deal.