Vertical Acquires North American Distribution Rights to Melissa Barrera’s “Your Monster”

Melissa Barrera is bringing her monster to North American theaters…

Following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the horror rom-com Your Monster, starring the 33-year-old Mexican actress and Tommy Dewey, has landed at Vertical for North American distribution.

Melissa Barrera, Your MonsterMarking the feature directorial debut of Caroline Lindy, who adapted the script from her own short film, Your Monster also stars Edmund Donovan, Kayla Foster and Meghann Fahy.

No word yet on a release date.

The film tells the story of the soft-spoken actor Laura Franco (Barrera), who is dumped by her longtime boyfriend (Donovan) while recovering from surgery and retreats to her childhood home to recover. With her future looking bleak, insult is added to injury when Laura discovers her ex is staging a musical that she helped him develop. But out of these gut-wrenching life changes emerges a monster (Dewey) with whom she finds a connection, encouraging Laura to follow her dreams, open her heart and fall in love with her inner rage.

“We were captivated by Caroline’s film at Sundance and thrilled it has made a home here at Vertical,” Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey said. “Marking her directorial feature debut, she has created a fantastic, fresh, genre-defying film that perfectly balances the mix of comedy, romance and horror topped off with a dash of musical theater that will captivate and delight audiences later this year.”

Stated Lindy: “I’m beyond thrilled to collaborate with Vertical on the release of Your Monster. Their strategies and commitment to innovative distribution aligns perfectly with our movie, and their passion for the film and desire to support my first feature means the world to me. The Sundance crowds were incredible, and I’m excited that more audiences will soon have a chance to see Your Monster in theaters and beyond.”

The film is produced by Foster, Lindy, Kira Carstensen, Melanie Donkers and Shannon Reilly, and executive produced by Bob Potter, Dewey, Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford. Jackson Sinder, Jack Taylor Cox and Alex Peace-Power were co-producers.

Barrera received an honorable mention prize for her performance in Your Monster this past weekend at the Sun Valley Film Festival.

Bobby Cannavale Wins Best Performance in a Film Award at Sun Valley Film Festival for “Ezra”

Bobby Cannavale has another award-winning performance on his resume…

Organizers of the 13th annual Sun Valley Film Festival, which took place from February 28 to March 1, have announced this year’s juried film award winners, with the 53-year-old half-Cuban American Emmy-winning actor among the recognized.

Bobby CannavaleIn all, the festival screened 20 narrative and documentary features, 37 shorts and three episodics.

For his performance in Ezra, Cannavale received the inaugural best performance in a film award. The winner of an audience award, Ezra was met with a sold-out crowd during the festival’s opening night. The screening was followed by a Q&A with producer Jon Kilik and a live performance by Adrienne Ackerman.

Ezra had a second screening on March 2, which was followed by a Q&A with Cannavale and director Tony Goldwyn, moderated by Variety’s Tatiana Siegel.

Melissa Barrera received an Honorable Mention award for her performance in Caroline Lindy’s Your Monster.

Raul Sanchez and Pasqual Gutierrez’s Shut Up & Fish won the SVShorty Award, while Maggie ContrerasMaestra received an Honorable Mention prize in the Best Documentary Feature Film category.

Tiger Stripes and Maya and the Wave won best narrative and documentary feature film, respectively. Photographer and Abundance: The Farm Link Story also received audience awards.

During the festival, Annette Bening and David O. Russell received the Vision Award. The Pioneer Award went to Ted Hope, while Julia Cox received the High Scribe Award.

The Sun Valley Film Festival is set to return in 2025 from Feb. 26 to March 2.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Performance in a Film Award: Bobby Cannavale for his role in “Ezra”

Audience Award Winners

FEATURE WINNER: “Ezra,” directed by Tony Goldwyn
EPISODIC WINNER: “Photographer ‘Paul Nicklen & Cristina Mittermeier: Win or Die,’” directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
SHORT WINNER: “Abundance: The Farmlink Story,” directed by Owen Dubeck

Best Narrative Feature Film
WINNER
: “Tiger Stripes,” directed by Amanda Nell Eu
HONORABLE MENTION FOR PERFORMANCE: Melissa Barrera in “Your Monster” directed by Caroline Lindy

Best Documentary Feature Film
WINNER
: “Maya and the Wave,” directed by Stephanie Johnes
HONORABLE MENTION: “Maestra,” directed by Maggie Contreras

One in a Million Awards
NARRATIVE WINNER: “Long December,” directed by Thomas Torrey
DOCUMENTARY WINNER: “Invisible Nation,” directed by Vanessa Hope

The SVShorty Award
WINNER
: “Shut Up & Fish,” directed by Raul Sanchez and Pasqual Gutierrez
SPECIAL MENTION: “The Sperm Bank,” directed by Margaux Susi

The Gem State Award
WINNER
: “The Balloonist,” directed by Heather Parkinson Dermott and Kai Barry

SVFF Film & Screenwriting Competition Winners

High Scribe Award
WINNER
: “Aman and Flor Against the Motherfucking World,” written by Emilie McDonald

SVJR Film Competition
HOT SHOT WINNER
: “The Overlocks’ Dilemma,” directed by Julian Felix Aaronson
2nd PLACE: “Happiness in the Palm of Her Hand,” directed by Ella Janes
3rd PLACE: “Anna McGee’s Wild Ride,” directed by Ava Bounds

The Gem State Jr. Award
WINNER: “Kenai River King,” directed by Bentley Allen Zylstra