Menemsha Films has acquired North American rights to “Ethan Bloom,” an interfaith coming-of-age comedy from “Cavemen” director Herschel Faber.
The distributor plans to release the film on the film festival circuit this spring, followed by a theatrical release in theaters across North America.
The cast includes Joshua Malina (The West Wing, Scandal), Rachel Lefebvre (The Twilight Saga), singer-songwriter Carlos Ponce, and Mindy Starling (Austin Powers trilogy). The film stars rising star Caroline Valencia, best known for her role as young Selena Gomez on Hulu’s hit series “Only Murders in the Building,” and Hank Greenspan, who appeared on the CBS sitcom “The Neighborhood” for eight seasons.
The film centers on 13-year-old Ethan Bloom (Greenspan), who is supposedly preparing for his bar mitzvah, but against the wishes of his widowed Jewish father (Marina), he is convinced that his spiritual calling lies in the Catholic Church, where he secretly finds solace under the tutelage of Father Diaz (Ponce).
Through the wisdom of an unconventional rabbi (Lefebvre), the complexities of family love, and his first romance with a girl in cowboy boots who puts him in a headlock, Ethan confronts his lies and grief and discovers that faith isn’t about choosing sides, but about honoring all the dirty and beautiful parts of who you are.
Neil Friedman of Menemsha Films said, “Ethan Bloom is a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story featuring two great young actors. The adult cast, including Joshua Malina, Rachelle Lefebvre and Carlos Ponce, is equally captivating, making the film a unique look at faith, love and family unlike anything we’ve seen on screen before.”
Director Faber added, “‘Ethan Bloom’ is the story of every child who has ever felt caught between different worlds of faith, culture, and family expectations, and screenwriter Maylen Dominguez and I wanted to make sure that people We strived to tell a story that would make people laugh, cry, and look at themselves, and we are thrilled that Menemsha Films understood the heart of this story and its groundbreaking potential to reach audiences around the world.”
Faber previously wrote, directed and produced the feature-length romantic comedy Cavemen, starring Skyler Astin (Pitch Perfect), Camilla Belle, Chad Michael Murray and Jason Patric, which was released theatrically by Well Go USA. As a screenwriter, Faber wrote Mac and Devin High School, starring Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, which was a Nicholl Fellowship and Austin Film Festival semifinalist.
Dominguez previously won the Zaki Gordon Award for Best Original Screenplay and the NBC/Universal Award for Best Television Writing.
The deal was negotiated by Friedman on behalf of Menemsha Films, and by Faber and Dominguez on behalf of Fascination Media and Plato’s Daughter Productions. The film was produced by Faber and Dominguez.
