According to Deadline, IFC Films has acquired all rights to the Saverio Costanzo thriller Hungry Hearts, starring Adam Driver (Girls) and Alba Rohrwacher (I Am Love).  Costanzo (The Solitude of Prime Numbers) wrote and directed the film, which was produced by Mario Gianani (A Street in Palermo) and Lorenzo Mieli (The Mafia Only Kills in Summer) for Wildside Productions, alongside Rai Cinema.

During the film’s world premiere at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, Driver and Rohrwacher earned awards for best performance by an actor and best performance by an actress, respectively.  Additionally, the film was nominated for the Golden Lion award, but came up short of winning.

An Italian Film, but spoken in English, Hungry Hearts is the story of an American man, Jude (Driver), and an Italian woman, Mina (Rohrwacher).  It appears to be a romantic comedy, until the woman’s behavior takes a crazy turn.  After a whirlwind romance, they get married and she becomes pregnant, but Mina is convinced that the child inside of her is special and must be protected from all the pollution of the outside world.  Jude plays along with Mina, until he realizes his son’s life is in danger.

According to Jonathan Sehring, president of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, “Saverio Costanzo astonished us all with this film, a haunting exploration of a relationship with a startling conclusion.”

The deal was signed with Radiant Films International, who will handle worldwide rights and shop the film to foreign distributors at the American Film Market in Santa Monica.