Level 33 Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to “The Shade,” a supernatural horror film starring Chris Galust (“Give Me Liberty,” “Mending the Line”) and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (“Tick, Tick… Boom!”, “No Hard Feelings”).
The indie thriller is set to open in theaters on several hundred screens across the United States and Canada this fall, followed by a digital release.
“The Shade” is the feature film debut of director Tyler Shipman, who also wrote the screenplay. The film was produced by David Purdy for Red King Cinema.
The film explores themes of mental health, family dynamics, and intergenerational trauma. The film follows Ryan Beckman (Galouste), a 20-year-old who is grappling with the recent death of his father. As Ryan struggles to support his mother, Renee (Benanti), and younger brother, James (Sam Duncan), a sinister presence begins to haunt his older brother, Jason (Dylan McTee), a college athlete who has returned home unexpectedly.
The distribution deal was negotiated by Purdy on behalf of the filmmakers and Andreas Olavarria, President and CEO of Level 33.
“We’ve always envisioned Red King as a way to tell stories as honestly as possible, no matter how complex the subject matter,” said Purdy. “We’re looking for new ways to blur the lines between genres to shed light on important topics, and we think The Shade is the perfect film to introduce our kind of cinema to the world.”
“We are incredibly excited to have The Shade, a new and exciting voice in storytelling in this genre, in theaters and across digital platforms across North America,” added Olavarria. “Red King is a formidable new player in the independent horror scene and we are thrilled to be working with their team to bring this high-quality film to audiences this fall.”
Los Angeles-based Level 33 Entertainment focuses on promoting diverse voices in independent film, and offers distribution across multiple platforms including theatrical, home entertainment and streaming. The company recently acquired “East Bay,” a black comedy starring “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Crazy Rich Asians” star Constance Wu.
