Jamie lee curtis, tika sumpter wage ‘an acceptable loss’; ‘the heiresses’, ‘adult life skills’ bow – specialty b. O. Preview

January continues its slow roll on the Specialty side this weekend with very few anticipated limited releases. IFC Films has the headliner of the weekend with political thriller _An

Acceptable Loss_ starring Tika Sumpter and Jamie Lee Curtis. _Chicago Fire_ director Joe Chappelle wrote and directed the title after finding inspiration from two documentaries by Errol

Morris. Brooklyn-based Distrib Films believes it found an under-the-radar gem in last year’s Berlin Film Festival with _The Heiresses_, which took two Silver Bears at the event in the German

capital. Other openers this weekend include Screen Media’s 2016 Tribeca Nora Ephron prize-winner _Adult Life Skills,_ as well as Freestyle Digital Media’s_ I Hate The Kids_ and RLJE Films’ 

_The Standoff at Sparrow Creek_. WATCH ON DEADLINE _AN ACCEPTABLE LOSS_ Director-writer: Joe Chappelle Cast: Tika Sumpter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Tavassoli, Jeff Hephner Distributor: IFC

Films Veteran TV director Joe Chappelle had the idea for a narrative feature film after watching two Errol Morris documentaries, _The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S.

McNamara_ (2003) and _The Unknown Known_ (2013) which focuses on former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. From there he and his filmmaking team added a twist. “Each man looks back at

the wars they orchestrated,” observed Chappelle. “I was fascinated by their approach. In_ The Fog of War_, you can tell McNamara was haunted and feels guilt. In _The Unknown Known_, I was

struck by how Rumsfeld was straightforward and said he’d do it again. I felt there was a movie there.” Chappelle said that he took the idea to his producer (and spouse) Colleen Griffen who

suggested making it about two women, which he liked. “I had to come up with a central component, and in this case, it’s a fatal blow to terrorists.” The film follows Libby Lamm (Tika

Sumpter), a former top national security advisor who, while working with Rachel Burke (Jamie Lee Curtis), a ruthless, steely political veteran, signed off on a controversial military action

that was supposed to end the war on terror. The problem: thousands died under false pretenses. Haunted by what she knows, Libby sets out to tell the truth, risking treason — and her own life

— to expose a cover-up that stretches all the way to the highest levels of government. This gripping saga of lies, conspiracy, and betrayal is an explosive look at what it takes to do the

right thing — even if that means going up against your own country. Chappelle wrote a number of drafts through 2016 and by the end of the year, he felt comfortable to send a version out to

actors. Jamie Lee Curtis was the first to board at the beginning of 2017 and through her participation, private equity investors came on as well. “Colleen met executive producer Candy

Straight at an [IFP event] and she said she was looking for a female-driven political thriller,” said Chappelle. “We sent her the script and she liked it. Then they raised money.” With

Curtis already in place, the filmmaking team went on the search for her counterpart, eventually tapping Tika Sumpter. _An Acceptable Loss_ shot over 30 days in the Chicago area. “We live in

Illinois,” said Chappelle. “So I wrote for locations that I am familiar with. I’ve shot in Chicago for _Chicago Fire_ for a few years, so I was able to tailor the script to what would be

practical.” The project used locations in the city’s downtown and North Side as well as the northern suburbs and Waukegan, Illinois, near the Wisconsin border, which doubled for the Illinois

state capital Springfield. “For a shoot, it went well,” said Chappelle. “Everyone came in prepared and the weather was thankfully not a factor.” The title was edited over the fall on

evenings and weekends while Chappelle continued with his day job. Picture was locked in late 2017, while the project was completed in April 2018 after adding music and effects. IFC Films

came on board in fall of last year in a sale via CAA. The film will open IFC Center in New York in addition to VOD platforms Friday. The title will also open in L.A. and other select cities

January 25. _THE HEIRESSES_ Director-writer: Marcelo Martinessi Cast: Ana Brun, Margarita Irún, Ana Ivanova Distributor: Distrib Films Director Marcelo Martinessi’s drama _The Heiresses_ won

two Silver Bears including Best Actress for Ana Brun at last year’s Berlin Film Festival where Brooklyn-based company Distrib Films saw the feature. The title is also Paraguay’s entry this

year for foreign language Oscar consideration, though it’s not on the short list. _The Heiresses_ centers on Chela and Chiquita who have been romantic partners for decades and lifelong

members of Paraguay’s elite – until the money runs out. Now they spend their days selling their furniture, glassware and silver to anyone who will make them an offer. When Chiquita, the more

garrulous and resilient of the two women, is sent to prison, Chela has to cope with loneliness and incipient poverty. Then surprising new options develop for Chela, both personally and

professionally. “It was a very different movie from all the others I was seeing,” explained Distrib Films’ François Scippa Kohn. “It is very human. It’s LGBT without being the central

[component of the story]. It reminded me of [Chilean film] _Gloria_ from [2013].” Scippa Kohn said he saw the “tiny Paraguayan” movie early on during the festival and was able to jump on it

while “prices weren’t high.” He noted there has been “a lot of inquiry” about the film since Distrib along with an Italian partner took various rights. “When you’re at a festival seeing a

bunch of movies, you can get a gut feeling and that’s [what happened for me] with this film,” he said. Distrib’s core content has been French films for U.S. release, but Scippa Kohn said

they have “enlarged our horizons” with films from other regions, including Latin America. The company teamed with New York-based non profit media and arts organization, Cinema Tropical,

which champions Latin American film stateside to help spread the word. “They do great outreach with Latin American press and audiences,” said Scippa Kohn. “They’re also very good with

grassroots work. For this, they are specifically [targeting] Paraguayans living [here].” He added that the organization is also reaching out to the LGBT community. Last year, Distrib Films

released five films with traditional theatrical runs beginning in New York and L.A., but additionally, the company released more titles outside that traditional NYC/Los Angeles template.

Said Scippa Kohn: “If we think New York is going to be tough, we won’t push for it. We’d rather go to other larger cities in the U.S. if we think they will be more successful [locally].” The

exec said he expects its release slate to be approximately the same number for 2019. The company said it’s banking on a “good _New York Times_ review” to help propel _The Heiresses_ beyond

its New York bow this weekend at Film Forum. The feature will also head to L.A., Boston, Miami, Chicago and other cities.” _ADULT LIFE SKILLS_ Director-writer: Rachel Tunnard Cast: Jodie

Whittaker, Lorraine Ashbourne, Edward Hogg, Breet Goldstien, Rachael Deering Distributor: Screen Media Filmmaker Rachel Tunnard won Best Debut Screenwriter at the British Independent Film

Awards for her work on _Adult Life Skills_ (she also won the Tribeca Film Festival’s Nora Ephron Prize when the film debuted there in 2016). The movie is based on Tunnard’s short film 

_Emotional Fusebox_, which was nominated for both a BAFTA and BIFA. Screen Media picked up the feature late last year and will have a day and date roll out this weekend. The film centers on

Anna, who feels stuck as she approaches her 30th birthday. Regressing to a teenager and living like a hermit in her mother’s garden shed, she wonders why the suffragettes ever bothered. She

spends her days making videos using her thumbs as actors, but Anna doesn’t show these videos to anyone. A week before her birthday, her mother serves an ultimatum — she needs to move out of

the shed, get a haircut that doesn’t put her gender in question and stop dressing like a homeless teen. When her friend comes to visit, Anna’s self-imposed isolation becomes impossible to

maintain. Soon she is entangled with a troubled eight year old boy obsessed with Westerns, and the local real estate agent whose awkwardness continually undermines his attempt to seduce her.

Funding for the project came via private investors as well as a number of foundations and groups including Creative England, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Film Vast in Sweden and

Wellcome Trust in addition to pre-sales in the U.K. and Sweden. While financing was being sorted, Tunnard received word that her lead, Jodie Whittaker — _Adult Life Skills_ was filmed the

year prior to Whittaker joining the cast of _Doctor Who_ — was pregnant. “We had to make a decision to either shoot immediately in six weeks, delay the film for a year or recast,” said

Tunnard via notes sent from Screen Media. “I had written the film for Jodie and she is one of my best friends, so the decision was pretty straightforward.” In addition to being on demand,

Screen Media is opening _Adult Life Skills_ theatrically in select locations in New York, L.A., San Francisco, Austin, Cleveland, Seattle , Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis and Phoenix.