SXSW & Locarno Title ‘Sew Torn’ Lands North American Distribution Deal

EXCLUSIVE: Sunrise Films has picked up North American distribution rights to Sew Torn, which screened at SXSW and Locarno in 2024 

Sunrise will release the film in theaters and digital platforms this summer.

The film follows Barbara Duggen, a seamstress who gets tangled in her own thread after stealing a briefcase from a drug deal gone bad. In an escalating game of cat and mouse, her different choices lead to drastically different outcomes along the way. 

The film stars Eve Connolly (Into The Badlands), Calum Worthy (Reboot), and John Lynch (Blue Lights). It is directed and edited by Freddy Macdonald, who also co-wrote the screenplay with his father Fred Macdonald. 

Sew Tornis the first full-length feature film by the director and is based on his 2019 short film of the same name, which was acquired by Searchlight Pictures and had an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run playing alongside 2019’s Ready Or Not.

The film had its world premiere at SXSW and also screened at Locarno and Sitges. Sunrise acquired the film from UTA. The company’s label Vertigo Releasing previously acquired the UK & Ireland rights from the film’s international sales agent The Playmaker Munich.

”I’m thrilled to be working with Sunrise Pictures. Their vision for Sew Torn aligns perfectly with our own, and I’m honored to be a part of the Sunrise family,” Macdonald said.  “Along with Vertigo Releasing – who we’re also thrilled to be partnering with for UK and Ireland distribution – this collaboration feels like the ideal home for our film.” 

Sunrise’s Head of US and International Distribution Andrew Nerger added: “We are delighted to be releasing the wildly original Sew Torn from the incredibly talented Freddy Macdonald. The originality and ingenuity of the film is off the scale and it invokes such crime classics as Gargo or A Simple Plan, but with an ingenious Sliding Doors style plot device showing alternate paths for Barbara that is a lot of fun. It will be a film that will reward viewers on multiple watches and we can’t wait to bring it to audiences in North America this Summer.”

Check out the film’s trailer above.