LA-based indie distributor Vertical Entertainment is pleased to announce that it has acquired North American rights to THE LEARS from arthouse producer NeoClassics Films Ltd. It is planning a day and date theatrical platform release on February 15, 2019 in approximately 10 markets. Written and directed by award-winning Canadian director Carl Bessai, THE LEARS is a darkly comic, modern-day interpretation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, demonstrating that all too often, “Family is everything…Awful!”

After premiering April 22, 2017, at the Nashville Film Festival, THE LEARS gained considerable recognition and acclaim on its festival run. Among awards garnered by THE LEARS, talented Irish leading lady Victoria Smurfit recently won the Irish Film & TV Academy (IFTA) Award for best supporting actress for her role in the film.

THE LEARS stars two-time Academy Award nominee Bruce Dern (THE HATEFUL EIGHT, NEBRASKA); Anthony Michael Hall (FOXCATCHER; THE DARK KNIGHT; The Dead Zone, SIXTEEN CANDLES); Sean Astin (THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy); Aly Michalka (EASY A); Irish leading lady Victoria Smurfit (ABC’s Once Upon a Time); and Aussie favorite Nic Bishop (ABC’s Body of Proof) among its strong ensemble cast, assembled by Jennifer Ricchiazzi of LaLa Casting. Award winning writer-director Bessai helmed THE LEARS from his own script.

The deal was negotiated by Josh Spector at Vertical and Frederic Demey of Cineville International on behalf of the filmmakers.