Writer-director Michael J. Gallagher’s Heaven’s Gate cult biopic The Leader, starring Vera Farmiga, Tim Blake Nelson and Jim Parsons, has been sold into the U.K. and Canada ahead of a world premiere at the Tribeca Festival next month.
As part of distribution deals negotiated by Brian O’Shea at Voltage/The Exchange, the thriller about the infamous messiahs of the religious UFO cult whose followers in 1997 committed the largest mass suicide on American soil will be released by Altitude Films in Britain and Sphere Films in the Canadian market.
“Michael Gallagher has crafted a powerful and thought-provoking film anchored by extraordinary performances. We look forward to sharing this compelling true story with Canadian audiences,” Victor Rego of Sphere Films said in a statement.
Farmiga plays cult leader Bonnie Nettles, aka “Ti,” with Nelson as the group’s infamous frontman, Marshall Applewhite, aka “Do.” The Leader tracks Nettles and Applewhite as they develop the religion, build a devout following and face unforeseen conflict when the spaceship they believed would transport their resurrected selves fails to arrive.
Tribeca will premiere the film on June 5, while the U.S. rights remain up for grabs. The Leader also stars Parsons, Grace Caroline Currey and Simon Rex as Heaven’s Gate followers.
Gallagher is known for writing and directing television series and films such as 2018’s Funny Story and The Thinning: New World Order. The Leader is produced by Cinemand Films, Balcony 9 Productions, Gold Rush Entertainment, Magnetic Labs, LB Entertainment, Red Barn Films, Copper Island, Silent Echo Productions, Drama Free Films and Entertainment 360.
