Cannes' Sleeping Beauty

FROM CANNES - Independents take note as Sundance Selects, a sister division to IFC Films and IFC Midnight, acquires the U.S. rights to fresh directing talent Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty.

Beauty features an emerging cast of actors including Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll and Chris Haywood; with Jessica Brentnall producing from Leigh's screenplay.

A haunting portrait of Lucy (Browning), a university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires, Sleeping Beauty premiered in competition this week at the Cannes. Hollywoodteur Jonathan Sehring, president of Sundance Selects, said, "For the last 5 days, people throughout Cannes have been discussing Sleeping Beauty. We are thrilled to introduce Julia Leigh and her arresting debut to American audiences."

"Along with the entire Sleeping Beauty team, I'm extremely pleased that the film will be getting a release in the U.S. through such a fine distributor as Sundance Selects, especially under a label that has featured films from so many directors we admire," Leigh said sounding very much like a Hollywoodteur puppet. Leigh and Browning are repped by UTA, who sold their Beauty.