SXSW winner “My Dead Friend Zoe” acquired by Briarcliff Entertainment

Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired domestic distribution rights to Legion M’s My Dead Friend Zoe. The black comedy, which won the Audience Award at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, stars Sonequa Martin-Green (“The Walking Dead”), Natalie Morales (“No Hard Feelings”), Oscar nominee Ed Harris (“Apollo 13”) and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”). The supporting cast also includes Gloria Reuben (“ER“) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (“Ghosts”).

The film is the directorial debut of Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, a former U.S. Army infantry paratrooper and Bronze Star veteran of the Iraq War. In the film, Hausmann-Stokes examines the post-war experience and pays tribute to veterans. The story was co-written by Hausmann-Stokes with AJ Bermudez. The film also marks the debut of NFL star Travis Kelce as an executive producer.

In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” Merit (Martin-Green) is a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran at odds with her family over the presence of Zoe (Morales), her deceased Army best friend. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor (Freeman), the tough love of her mother (Reuben), and an unexpected love affair, Merit’s friendship with Zoe isolates the duo from the world. At least until Merit’s estranged grandfather (Harris), holed up in the family’s lake house, needs help. Briarcliff plans to release the film in theaters nationwide on November 1.

“‘My Dead Friend Zoe’ is a moving exploration of war veterans, told in a way we’ve never seen before, and we believe it will leave audiences with a deeper connection to this special group of Americans,” said Briarcliff CEO Tom Ortenberg. “We’re so excited that moviegoers will be able to fall in love with these characters in this way, laugh and cry with them, while also highlighting important issues that everyone – veteran or not – can relate to and celebrate.”

“We are excited to partner with industry leader Tom Ortenberg and his team at Briarcliff to give ‘My Dead Friend Zoe’ a full theatrical release with the care and attention it deserves,” said Paul Scanlan, co-founder and CEO of Legion M. “As they have consistently selected groundbreaking hit films in the past, we are beyond grateful to Tom and his team for their enthusiastic passion for this important project.”

The film is produced by Terri Lubaroff, Ray Maiello and Mike Field (Radiant Media Studios), Richard Silverman (ReCre8 Entertainment), Robert Paschall, Jr., Hausman-Stokes and Scanlan (Legion M). Executive producers include Kelce Martin-Green, Morales, Harris, Jeff Annison, David Baxter, Brandi Plants, Nancy Masterson, Joe Masterson and Igor Tsukerman.

“We are thrilled to partner with trendsetter Tom Ortenberg and his team at Briarcliff to bring ‘My Dead Friend Zoe’ to theaters and raise awareness of this important film,” said Maiello, co-founder of Radiant Media Studios. “It’s a powerful film with a stellar cast, and we’re pleased that our investments in renewable energy have helped bring this powerful story to light.”

The deal was negotiated by CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers and by Ortenberg, Jessica Rose, Danielle Goodman Strong and Andrew Ortenberg on behalf of Briarcliff Entertainment.