Per a report by Indiewire, The Orchard has just added the Sebastian Silva drama Nasty Baby to its Sundance windfall, which also included the films The Overnight, Digging for Fire, and the documentary Cartel Land. The film was originally rejected by Toronto (TIFF) after a failed stipulation for Silva to change the surprising third act. It then went on to premiere at both the Sundance and Berlinale film festivals, and then took home the Berlinale Teddy Award for Best Queer Film – making this acquisition deal a rewarding end to a long journey for Nasty Baby.
The indie stars Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins) as a woman helping her best friend (Silva) and his gay partner conceive a baby. Their efforts become disrupted due to harassment from a neighborhood local known as “The Bishop.” The film also stars Alia Shawkat (TV’s Arrested Development), Reg E. Cathey (Netflix’s House of Cards), and Tunde Adebimpe (Rachel Getting Married).
Sebastian Silva is relatively new to English-language cinema, with the exception of his two under-the-radar Michael Cera-starrers, Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus and Magic Magic. Silva definitely has his own unique perspective – one that is shared with executives at The Orchard. Their SVP of Film & TV, Paul Davidson, commented, “in a sea of feel-good dramas and sweet romantic comedies, we feel lucky to have found the anti-thesis to both in Nasty Baby.” The Orchard plans to release the dramedy later this year.