ARRAY Releasing, the distribution arm of ARRAY from Ava DuVernay, has acquired the distribution rights to the independent drama “Learn to Swim,” and has set its August 15 release date in select theaters and on Netflix.
“Learn to Swim” marks the debut of director Thyrone Tommy, who co-wrote the script with Marni Van Dyk. Alona Metzer produced the film.
“Learn to Swim,” an official entry to last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, focuses on two young jazz musicians: saxophonist Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and singer Selma (Emma Ferreira). Although their polar opposites – Dezi is experienced and closed, Selma is inexperienced and energetic – sparks fly between the two, but their respective emotional baggage stands in the way between them and their romance.
The romantic film made the annual TIFF Top 10 List of 2021 and was nominated for a DGC Discovery Award at the Directors Guild of Canada Awards. The film also received two nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards, winning Best Original Song for And Then We Don’t, an original song by TiKa and Casey Manierka-Quaile.
In addition to acquiring the US distribution rights to the film, ARRAY will also handle distribution in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
“With ARRAY Releasing’s summer acquisition of Learn to Swim, we are thrilled to highlight Canadian director Thyrone Tommy’s singing debut,” ARRAY President Thylan Jones said in a statement. “His award-winning film presents a deeply moving story of tragic loss, questions of the heart, and the resilience of the human spirit.”
The acquisition of the film was negotiated by Gordon Pope of Dell, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein and Lescano on behalf of ARRAY. Derek Kigono of the APA and Ben Cowley of Goldenberg & Co negotiated on behalf of “Learn to Swim.”
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