Rodrigo Reyes’ poignant documentary will be hitting U.S. theaters…

Cinema Guild has acquired the U.S. rights to Sansón and Me, directed by the 39-year-old Mexican film director.

The film has been slated for release in theaters next year, beginning with a run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on March 3.

Reyes’ latest feature emerged from his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, through which he met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole. With no permission to interview him, Sansón and Reyes worked together over the course of a decade, using hundreds of letters as inspiration for recreations of Sansón’s childhood — featuring members of his own family. The result is a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of the criminal justice system and pushing the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young migrant’s story from oblivion.

The documentary won Best Film at Sheffield DocFest in June after world premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The film also recently won the top prize at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and was named to the IDA and SFFILM Doc Stories shortlists.

“With Sansón and Me, Rodrigo Reyes takes the consequences of colonialism in Mexico that he explored in 499 and makes them intensely personal,” said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly. “We’re excited by the ways he continues to push the documentary form and can’t wait to share this beautiful film with audiences.”

“I am very proud that the deeply personal journey of Sansón and Me has found a home with Cinema Guild,” added Reyes, “a company with an unwavering commitment to this art form we all love so much.”