Sony Pictures Classics Acquires THE JULIA SET After TIFF Premiere

Sony Pictures Classics announced that it has acquired all rights in the United States, Benelux, Switzerland, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, United Kingdom, Eastern Europe (excluding Poland), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and Asia (excluding Singapore) to THE JULIA SET, written and directed by Niki Byrne. The film had its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, where it sparked an enthusiastic audience response and emerged as a standout title.

The film stars Chase Infiniti (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, THE TESTAMENTS), Christopher Briney (THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY, MEAN GIRLS), Nina Hoss (TÁR, BARBARA), Carmen Ejogo (METRO, SPARKLE), Chloe Bailey (GROWN-ISH, PRAISE THIS), Nico Hiraga (BOOKSMART, MOXIE), Liz Lin and Alex Dillard, with Jason Isaacs (THE WHITE LOTUS, HARRY POTTER) and Gillian Anderson (THE X-FILES, THE FALL).

THE JULIA SET follows Julia Fischer (Chase Infiniti), the youngest, most gifted student in her university math program. She is also the most practiced at hiding it. When she's recruited into an elite prep course culminating in the most punishing exam in mathematics, while at the same time falling into a romantic relationship with her charismatic teaching assistant, Pascal (Christopher Briney), Julia must find the strength to follow the path she was destined to take. As Pascal crumbles under the weight of his overbearing father Aleksander's (Jason Isaacs) suffocating expectations, it is Pascal's mother, Anne (Gillian Anderson), who helps Julia recognize and seize a moment of opportunity that will help to define her future.

The film is produced by Potato Salad Cosmic Domination, Shaun Sanghani, in association with SSS Entertainment, G Nus Media, IF/THEN, Grapevine Films, Cinetrain SA, Melegrano Films, Hanway Films, Gotham Group, Good Future Films and Vacancy Film Fund. Producers include Jeffrey Penman (p.g.a.), Nick Scherma (p.g.a.), Shaun Sanghani, Gillian Anderson, Eleonora Granata Jenkinson, Andrey Epifanov, David Treatman, Max Johnson, Lee Stollman, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Tayler Haynes. Executive producers include Margaret Black, Nicole G. Small, Chase Infiniti, Cecily Colahan, Gabriel Jenkinson, Kenneth Yu, Vico Sharabani, Natalia Gurova, David Koenig, Joey Suquet, Phil Hunt, Harsimranjit 'Harry' Ahluwalla, Ryan Lewis, Stephen Lamm, Michael Cassutt, Jonah Minkove, Debra Taweel, J. Todd Harris, Art Williams, Chad Oliver, Daniel Sheldon, David Fensterstock and Russell Posternak and co-producers are DJ Dodd, Paolo Pilladi, Rob Simmons and Mitchell Darwin.

Filmmaker Niki Byrne said, 'Growing up, I didn't understand that people made movies. I thought they were the purview of the gods, that they fell out of the sky, and if we were lucky, we caught them. For 35 years, my entire lifetime, Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and their team at Sony Pictures Classics have made sure audiences catch the movies worth catching. I couldn't be prouder to add THE JULIA SET to their extraordinary library, and to know it will be seen the way movies are meant to be seen: in a darkened theater, together.'

Sony Pictures Classics added, 'With subjects as wide ranging as feminism, romantic infatuation, class differences, familial conflict, bullying and love, and even what it means to be a math prodigy, Niki Byrne's emotionally engaging and impressive directorial début gives meaning to living in the modern world. Seeing the enthusiastic response at TIFF confirms what promises to be a great theatrical success as well as cements that Chase Infiniti's much lauded performance in ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER was no accident. She is at the center of this deeply rich, even suspensefully entertaining film supported by an amazing cast that includes Christopher Briney, Gillian Anderson, Nina Hoss, Jason Isaacs.'

The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and Gersh.

About Sony Pictures Classics

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992—which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world. Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 42 Academy Awards (38 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 192 Academy Award nominations (166 at Sony Pictures Classics), including two nominations this year for BLUE MOON for Best Actor (Ethan Hawke) and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Picture nominations for I'M STILL HERE, THE FATHER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services. http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.