Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar managed to secure a distribution deal with MUBI for his gay Western short Strange Way of Life before its official Cannes premiere. The indie streaming service acquired a multi-territorial distribution plan with Almodóvar’s film production company, El Deseo, for Latin America and Italy.

MUBI is well-known for its distribution plans that integrate both streaming and theatrical releases. Through its acquisition of arthouse titles like Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave and Ira Sachs’ Passages, it has gained recognition and branched out into theatrical distribution. 

Almodódovar’s short follows Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two gunmen who meet each other 25 years after a hired gun partnership. Rancher Silva visits his old friend Sherrif Jake as an excuse to reunite and celebrate their old partnership. However, Sheriff Jake reveals that his intentions go deeper than simply rekindling an old friendship. 

According to Almodóvar, his short is meant to be a queer Western “in the sense that there are two men, and they love each other.” Strange Way was inspired by a famous fado by Amalia Rodrigues that explored the idea that “there is no stranger existence than the one that is lived by turning your back on your own desires.” 

The short will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival with Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, and Pedro Pascal in attendance for an onstage conversation.