A new animated film has entered the Oscar race.
Independent Film Company (formerly branded IFC) and Sapan Studio have acquired North American rights to “Tangles,” the hand-drawn animated feature and directorial debut of Leah Nelson, and will mount an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run before year’s end, Variety can exclusively reveal.
Adapted by Nelson, Trev Renney and Sarah Leavitt from Leavitt’s acclaimed graphic memoir “Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me,” the film tells its story through expressive, predominantly black-and-white animation. It is a poignant and unexpectedly funny portrait of a family navigating profound change, tracing the toll of early-onset Alzheimer’s alongside the more universal bonds between parents and children, the identities we build away from home and the humor and resilience that endure as memory begins to slip.
The film features a stacked voice cast led by Abbi Jacobson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Beanie Feldstein, Seth Rogen and Samira Wiley, with Pamela Adlon, Sarah Silverman, Bowen Yang, Wanda Sykes, Phil Rosenthal, Adam Shapiro, Pat Finn and Sugar Lyn Beard rounding out the ensemble.
“’Tangles’ is one of those rare films that can be deeply specific and profoundly universal at the same time,” said Ayo Kepher-Maat, vice president of IFC Entertainment Group acquisitions and productions. “Leah has created something visually singular, extraordinarily moving and also genuinely funny, a film that looks honestly at an experience millions of families understand while never allowing illness to define its characters. At its heart, this is a story about family, identity, love and the complicated process of growing up. After its remarkable reception at Cannes, we are incredibly proud to partner with Sapan Studio to bring ‘Tangles’ to audiences.”
