Picturehouse Entertainment Announces their Acquisition of Sophie Hyde’s Latest film ANIMALS Ahead of August Release

Picturehouse Entertainment announces their acquisition of Sophie Hyde’s new feature film, ANIMALS, which is due for release on 2 August 2019.

Based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth and starring Holliday Grainger (Cinderella, My Cousin Rachel) and Alia Shawkat (Transparent, Arrested Development) as best friends Laura and Tyler, the film will have its European premiere at Sundance Film Festival London on Friday, 31 May 2019. Animals was developed by Sarah Brocklehurst Productions and Closer Productions, with the assistance of Creative England and Screen Australia. It is produced by BAFTA-nominee Sarah Brocklehurst with Rebecca Summerton and Sophie Hyde for Closer Productions and Cormac Fox for Vico Films. Cornerstone Films is handling sales and is co-repping North America together with UTA.

Clare Binns - Joint MD of Picturehouse Entertainment said “Audiences are going to love a night on the tiles with Sophie Hyde’s Animals. It’s fresh, dynamic and obscenely hilarious, and a unique, unflinching take on contemporary womanhood. It has a truthfulness about the dilemmas we all face, and this mix of comedy and honesty makes Hyde one of the most fearless and exciting directors around.”

Cornerstone Films’ Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder commented “Animals is a bold and unabashed portrait of modern women from the immensely talented Sophie Hyde. We are delighted to have Picturehouse Entertainment on board to release the film in the UK.”

About Animals
Laura and Tyler are two girls who like to party – drink, drugs and general debauchery infuse their lives while their careers and lives remain on hold. As they drift into their thirties, reality begins to bite, but Laura and Tyler will not be tamed so easily.

When aspiring writer Laura meets the devilishly handsome musician, Jim, sparks fly. As their relationship intensifies, Laura’s friendship with Tyler comes under pressure. Tyler wants to keep the party going, living a life without limitation as Laura begins to settle into a relationship with Jim. But nothing is ever that simple, and Laura begins to struggle with a more straight-laced approach to life.

As the fabric of the friendship between Laura and Tyler begins to fray, the bond between these two siren soulmates starts to implode. With their old life starting to slip away they face a crossroads. As they battle with the realities of life, new opportunities present themselves that might carry them beyond their past hedonism.

A celebration of female friendship and the choices we make, ANIMALS is an honest, unconventional and very funny snapshot of two very modern women.

ANIMALS will have its European Premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival: London on Friday 31 May. Tickets sold out in record time, making ANIMALS the fastest-selling film in the history of the festival. Sophie Hyde will be in attendance at this year’s Sundance Film Festival: London in Q&A.

About Picturehouse Entertainment
Picturehouse Entertainment is the distribution arm of Picturehouse Cinemas, the owner and operator of 25 Picturehouse Cinemas and programmer for a further 40 UK venues. As champions of distinct cinematic voices and outstanding new feature films, Picturehouse Entertainment is renowned for delivering innovative and award-winning release campaigns from theatrical to home entertainment.

In 2017, Picturehouse Entertainment released Woody Harrelson's one-take wonder, Lost In London; David Lowery's mesmerising A Ghost Story; the multi BIFA award-winning debut from British filmmaker Francis Lee, God's Own Country; and the razor-sharp comedy The Party from iconic director Sally Potter.

2018 saw French director Xavier Legrand's astonishing debut Custody receive ten 2019 Cesar nominations, including Best Film. Distinguished auteur Paul Schrader’s First Reformed also enjoyed

critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. A celebratory 50th-anniversary revival of The Beatles Yellow Submarine delighted audiences across the UK, and in Bjorn Runge’s powerful and affecting drama The Wife, Glenn Close delivered a career-defining performance to earn her 2019 BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.

In 2019, Picturehouse Entertainment has already seen the release of the outstanding BAFTA and Academy Award-nominated Capernaum from Lebanese director Nadine Labaki and Out Of Blue from visionary director Carol Morley. Benedikt Erlingsson’s wry Icelandic drama Woman At War was released 3 May.

About Cornerstone Films
Founded in 2015 by Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder, Cornerstone Films is a London/LA based production, sales and financing company with a focus on feature films of enduring quality and distinctive story-telling. Working closely with our German partners, X-Filme and Beta Cinema, the Cornerstone team is passionately committed to curating a diverse range of films that reflect the world around us, ranging from authored,

intimate film-making, to commercial wide release films. We immerse ourselves in every stage of a film’s journey collaborating closely with our partners from inception through to exploitation.

Cornerstone’s current slate includes: Phyllida Lloyd’s Herself from Element Pictures and Merman; Euros Lyn’s Dream Horse starring Toni Collette and Damian Lewis; Shirley written by Sarah Gubbins directed by Josephine Decker starring Golden Globe winner Elizabeth Moss and Golden Globe nominee Michael Stuhlbarg; Bart Freundlich’s remake of Susanne Bier’s After the Wedding starring Academy Award Winner Julianne Moore and Golden Globe Winner, Michelle Williams, BAFTA Nominee; Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded by the Light featuring music from Bruce Springsteen; Sophie Hyde’s Animals, starring Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat; Mirrah Foulkes’ feature film directorial debut, Judy and Punch starring Mia Wasikowska and Damon Herriman; Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut The Boy who Harnessed the Wind; Gregor Jordan’s Dirt Music starring Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominee Kelly Macdonald, Garrett Hedlund and David Wenham; Two-time Academy Award-nominee Dan Krauss’s The Kill Team starring Golden Globe winner Alexander Skarsgard and Nat Wolff; BAFTA Winner Mike Leigh’s British historical drama Peterloo which had its world premiere, screening in Competition, at the Venice Film Festival; Academy Award Nominee Henry-Alex Rubin’s crime-thriller Semper Fi starring Nat Wolff and Jai Courtney and Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz’s directorial debut Georgetown starring Christoph Waltz, Academy Award Winner, Vanessa Redgrave, and Academy Award Nominee, Annette Bening.