Drafthouse Films Acquires Jim Hosking’s ‘Ebony And Ivory’ Ahead Of Fantastic Fest Premiere

EXCLUSIVE: Drafthouse Films has acquired worldwide rights to Ebony and Ivory, the latest surreal comedy from writer-director Jim Hosking, ahead of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest.

The move puts Drafthouse back in business with the filmmaker following their collaboration on the darkly comedic cult favorite The Greasy Strangler, which premiered at Sundance. Pic will be released in theaters in 2025.

Continuing in the uncanny, deadpan tradition of Hosking’s past films like The Greasy Strangler and An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, starring Aubrey Plaza and Jemaine Clement, Ebony and Ivory exists in a world where everything is more-than-slightly off, vision is blurred, time starts to melt, and world peace is possible. The Greasy Strangler alums Sky Elobar and Gil Gex star as two musical legends who convene at a remote Scottish cottage to discuss a potential collaboration that may unite an entire generation.

Hosking also produced alongside Denzil Monk, Ant Timpson and Thelonious Brooks. Daniel Noah and Elijah Wood’s Spectrevision exec produced with Sweetshop’s Melanie Bridge & Sharleen George, Tim League, Ted Held, Nicole Wendeborn, Alexander Stojak and Robert Dujmusic, with support from the Sound/Image Cinema Lab, Screen Cornwall and the Cultivator Screen Growth Production Fund.

Stated Hosking, “Ebony and Ivory is me completely tuning into my gut to make a film that may appear superficially absurd but is also a very personal expression. Also it’s a comedy. Maybe I am the last person in the world making a comedy. Does anyone else make comedies?”

Added producer Timpson, “Ebony and Ivory was primarily financed by a cadre of friends who believe that in this cookie-cutter vanilla era, it is not only vital to back original voices like Jim Hosking, it is a moral duty. And so it makes absolute sense for the film to find the perfect home with the like-minded souls at Drafthouse Films.”