Glass Half Full Media Takes U.S. Rights to Venice Competition Film ‘The Macaluso Sisters’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Jeff Lipsky’s Glass Half Full Media has acquired all U.S. rights for Emma Dante’s “The Macaluso Sisters,” which world premiered in competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Represented in international markets by Charades, the movie is also being featured in the Flash Forward section of the Busan Film Festial.

“The Macaluso Sisters” opened in Italian theaters on Sept. 10 and has reached over 68,000 admissions to date. Glass Half Full plans to release the ensemble drama in theaters next spring.

The film tells the story of a tight-knit family of five orphaned sisters living in an apartment in Palermo, Sicily. The film follows them at three different stages of their lives: as they holiday together, grow apart, and ultimately reconnect at just the right moments.

“While only Ms. Dante’s second film, ‘Macaluso’ is the work of an exquisitely mature filmmaker. I was utterly swept away by the timelessness of this tender story,” said Lipsky.

“Emma infuses the story, the characters, and its often soaring imagery with magic and heart, sadness and charm. Family is everything in life and Ms. Dante underscores that sentiment with uncommon grace,” added Lipsky.

Lipsky negotiated the deal with Charades’ Carole Baraton. “Jeff is a long-time partner and I’m thrilled to work with his new venture. I’m looking forward to working together again and sharing Emma’s special film with U.S. audiences,” said Baraton.

Since world premiering at Venice, “The Macaluso Sisters” has earned warm reviews. Variety’s Jessica Kiang described the film as “a deeply poignant story” and said Dante has set “a firm seal upon her cross-disciplinary emergence as a director of unusually vivid empathy.”

“The Macaluso Sisters” marks Dante’s follow-up to her feature debut “A Street in Palermo,” which was adapted from her own play and competed at Venice in 2013, where it won the best actress award for Elena Cotta.

“The Macaluso Sisters” was written by Dante, Elena Stancanelli and Giorgio Vasta and stars Alissa Maria Orlando, Susanna Piraino, Eleonora De Luca, Viola Pusateri, Donatella Finocchiaro, Serena Barone, Simona Malato, Laura Giordani, Maria Rosaria Alati, Rosalba Bologna and Ileana Rigano. The movie was produced by Marica Stocchi, Giuseppe Battiston and Daniele Di Gennaro.