Grace Glowicki's ‘Dead Lover' Acquired by Cartuna and Dweck Productions Out of SXSW
'It's alive!' — as the mad scientists would say. Grace Glowicki's grotesque, 16mm-shot romance 'Dead Lover' has been acquired for North American distribution by Cartuna and Dweck Productions, operating under a new venture Cartuna x Dweck. The deal comes after the film's selection at SXSW, following a premiere at Sundance in January.
'We firmly believe that we are at the early stages of a historic creative movement,' says James Belfer, founder and CEO of Cartuna. 'Inventive, boundary-pushing storytellers need more distribution support now than ever. This collective of producers has opted to take matters into our own hands and it's our sincere hope that it will inspire others to do the same.'
More from Variety
'Dead Lover': How Director Grace Glowicki Pulled Off the Grotesque Indie Romance With Dollar Store Lights, Kiddie Pools and a Single Zoom Lens
'Dead Lover' Review: Macabre Attempt to Keep a Lost Romance Alive Is Both Entertaining and Inventive
Joshua Burge, Dweck Productions Join Joel Potrykus' Dark Comedy 'Vulcanizadora' (EXCLUSIVE)
'What Grace and her collaborators have dug up from their creative depths is like nothing I've ever seen before and we are so honored to be a part of this infinitely imaginative team,' said Hannah Dweck, owner and co-founder of Dweck Productions. 'We can't wait to set this exuberantly unrestrained, disgusting, beautiful, smelly, exhumed corpse of a rom-com loose on the world!'
The acquisition is the latest development in Cartuna's film distribution venture, which put out the Blu-ray release of the word-of-mouth slapstick comedy 'Hundreds of Beavers' last year and has sold more than 10,000 copies since. 'Dead Lover' is the first all-right acquisitions for the company, and the inaugural under its newly formed partnership with Dweck Productions. Kurt Ravenwood, a partner of SRH agency and producer on 'Hundreds of Beavers,' will provide marketing strategy on 'Dead Lover.'
Grace Glowicki wrote, directed and stars in 'Dead Lover,' a prosthetics-centric horror-comedy about a stinky, lonesome gravedigger who reanimates her squeeze using his detached finger. Ben Petrie is a co-writer and co-star. The film made its premiere in the Midnight section at Sundance, with later selections at SXSW, International Film Festival Rotterdam and Göteborg Film Festival. Forthcoming screenings are set for the Overlook Film Festival and the Los Angeles Festival of Movies.
'We feel touched by kismet to be working with Cartuna X Dweck!' Glowicki said in a statement. 'Individually, both companies are stalwart champions of independent voices in cinema, and we're in love with their vision for a united superfront putting out movies with a fresh, individualized approach. Ben, Yona and I are thrilled to be putting our brains together with them on rolling out Dead Lover!'
The deal was negotiated by Hugues Barbier, Justin Timms, and Joe Yanick of Yellow Veil Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers and James Belfer on behalf of Cartuna x Dweck.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More
What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
David Byrne announces world tour and his long-awaited solo album 'Who Is the Sky?'
Fans of Talking Heads and David Byrne can rejoice, as the 73-year-old singer announced his first new album in seven years and tour. The album 'Who Is the Sky?' will hit streaming services and shelves on Sept. 5. Soon after, Byrne will kick off the North American leg of his tour, which features two shows in November at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2026, he'll touch down in New Zealand before moving on to Australia and Europe. The 12-song album is led by the single 'Everybody Laughs,' released Tuesday alongside a music video directed by multimedia artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo. 'Someone I know said, 'David, you use the word 'everybody' a lot.' I suppose I do that to give an anthropological view of life in New York as we know it,' Byrne said in a press release. 'Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling. Everybody's wearing everybody else's shoes, which not everybody does, but I have done. I tried to sing about these things that could be seen as negative in a way balanced by an uplifting feeling from the groove and the melody, especially at the end, when St. Vincent and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together,' he added. 'Music can do that — hold opposites simultaneously.' New York-based ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra arranged the album. It also includes collaborations with the aforementioned St. Vincent, Hayley Williams, and the Smile drummer Tom Skinner. Byrne's last album was 2018's 'American Utopia,' which eventually took the Broadway stage and in 2020 became a concert film directed by Spike Lee. But it wasn't a Byrne tour that fans were expecting. Talking Heads, for which Byrne served as lead singer between 1975 and 1991, released a teaser on June 2, including their song "Psycho Killer." Some even noticed that the date included in the short clip, June 5, is an important one in the band's history. 'The band played their first gig as Talking Heads — opening for the Ramones at the CBGB club — on June 5, 1975,' one fan commented. Instead of a tour announcement, fans received a music video for the song, highlighted by the appearance of Irish actor Saoirse Ronan. 'They waited until Saoirse Ronan was born to make the video,' another fan joked. 'Very professional.' Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
David Byrne announces world tour and his long-awaited solo album ‘Who Is the Sky?'
Fans of Talking Heads and David Byrne can rejoice, as the 73-year-old singer announced his first new album in seven years and tour. The album 'Who Is the Sky?' will hit streaming services and shelves on Sept. 5. Soon after, Byrne will kick off the North American leg of his tour, which features two shows in November at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2026, he'll touch down in New Zealand before moving on to Australia and Europe. The 12-song album is led by the single 'Everybody Laughs,' released Tuesday alongside a music video directed by multimedia artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo. 'Someone I know said, 'David, you use the word 'everybody' a lot.' I suppose I do that to give an anthropological view of life in New York as we know it,' Byrne said in a press release. 'Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling. Everybody's wearing everybody else's shoes, which not everybody does, but I have done. I tried to sing about these things that could be seen as negative in a way balanced by an uplifting feeling from the groove and the melody, especially at the end, when St. Vincent and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together,' he added. 'Music can do that — hold opposites simultaneously.' New York-based ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra arranged the album. It also includes collaborations with the aforementioned St. Vincent, Hayley Williams, and the Smile drummer Tom Skinner. Byrne's last album was 2018's 'American Utopia,' which eventually took the Broadway stage and in 2020 became a concert film directed by Spike Lee. But it wasn't a Byrne tour that fans were expecting. Talking Heads, for which Byrne served as lead singer between 1975 and 1991, released a teaser on June 2, including their song 'Psycho Killer.' Some even noticed that the date included in the short clip, June 5, is an important one in the band's history. 'The band played their first gig as Talking Heads — opening for the Ramones at the CBGB club — on June 5, 1975,' one fan commented. Instead of a tour announcement, fans received a music video for the song, highlighted by the appearance of Irish actor Saoirse Ronan. 'They waited until Saoirse Ronan was born to make the video,' another fan joked. 'Very professional.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Taicca and Gobelins Paris Announce Partnership at Annecy to ‘Nurture Original Stories from Taiwan': ‘Dream Bigger and Reach Further'
Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca) has announced a strategic partnership with animation school Gobelins Paris at Annecy's film-TV market MIFA. As shared with the audience, the new collaboration aims to 'cultivate animation talents from Taiwan, support the development of original IPs for children and young adults, and strengthen Taiwan's connections with the global animation industry.' More from Variety 'Arcane' Producer Fortiche Teaming With ARTE France on Coming-of-Age Mini-Series 'Miss Saturne' GKIDS Acquires North American Rights to Hong Kong Animated Feature 'Another World,' Premiering at Annecy (EXCLUSIVE) BBC Studios, Blink Industries Team Up for New Animated Martial Arts Series, 'Children Vs Battle SuperStars' The partners will co-organize the Create Your Own IP International Animation Workshop, a training program designed to help emerging Taiwanese creators and professionals develop original children's animation IPs. The workshop will cover storytelling, visual development, character and world design, as well as pitching strategies. Cecile Blondel, director of international development at Gobelins Paris, noted that 'Taiwanese creators offer fresh, compelling ideas, though turning them into strong visual stories can be challenging.' The workshop will hopefully 'bridge the gap.' 'We're excited to join forces with one of the world's top animation schools to nurture original stories from Taiwan,' added Taicca's Deputy CEO Alice Chang. 'Through this partnership, we hope to empower our creators with the skills, networks, and confidence to dream bigger and reach further.' On the same day, Taicca also introduced new projects during its Taiwan Spotlight pitching session at Annecy's MIFA market. That included 'Wacky Tidy Pals,' directed by Redic Hsu and produced by Mixcode, introducing four characters embarking on an adventure – and solving mysteries – when a mysterious natural force disrupts the village. Liao Tai-Yu's 'Puringau' sees a young girl, Akay, trying to protect the forest. Gifted with ancestral witchcraft, but feared by those she vows to help, she finds herself caught between suspicion and belief. The show about 'forgotten God,' produced by MK Origin Studio, is rooted in the myths of Taiwan's indigenous peoples, it was revealed. 'Blue Runners,' adapted from the award-winning novel and directed by Huang Shih-Ming, follows an ex-athlete and a teenager struggling with depression, who gradually breaks out of isolation through long-distance running. Stepmotion Pictures is on board. In 'Bliss: Beyond the Edge of Time,' the audience is granted an unflinching look into the future, where 'the cold precision of technology collides with the fragile essence of humanity.' As five distinct stories unfold, creators wonder: In a future when memories can be erased, identities rewritten and fate engineered, what remains truly ours? Finally, Erik Lee's 'Tag' claims – rather controversially – that life only truly begins after death. As a mother and son reunite in the underworld, they confront a path of redemption through existence. And the titular 'tag'? It's a system of 'spiritual substitution' orchestrated by an enigmatic medium. Go Go Studios produce. Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
