Katarina Zhu and Rachel Sennott‘s feature Bunnylovr is set to hop into theaters following its Sundance launch.
Utopia has acquired North American theatrical rights to Bunnylovr and will release the film theatrically on April 10, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned. Zhu stars, produces and makes her feature directorial debut, while Sennott (I Love LA) co-stars and also produces.
Set in New York, Bunnylovr centers on Rebecca (Zhu), a Chinese-American camgirl navigating a toxic relationship with a client while reconnecting with her estranged father. Austin Amelio (Hitman), Perry Yung (The Warrior) and Jack Kilmer (The Nice Guys) round out the cast for the movie that premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Utopia will open the feature on April 10 at Quad Cinema in New York City and Landmark’s Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles. This marks Sennott’s third film to land distribution from Utopia following Shiva Baby and I Used to Be Funny.
Zhu helmed Bunnylovr from her own script. She produces alongside Sennott and Ani Schroeter, in addition to Roger Mancusi for Fair Oaks Entertainment and Rhianon Jones and Tristan Scott-Behrends for Neon Heart Productions. Executive producing are Deb Tam, James Graham, Tony Yang, Sean McGuinness, Remi Alfallah, Molly Conners, Amanda Bowers, Jane Oster Sinisi, Linda L. Berthy, Yao King and Topher Lin.
“Utopia understood the spirit of the film and championed it from the very beginning in a way that feels rare, especially for a debut,” Zhu says. “I feel incredibly lucky to be working with a team that is so committed to bold, filmmaker-driven work, and to be joining a roster of films and filmmakers I admire deeply. I cannot wait for audiences to see the film.”
Adds Utopia head of distribution and marketing Kyle Greenberg, “From the moment we saw Bunnylovr we recognized Katarina Zhu as a singular new voice — fearless, emotionally precise and deeply attuned to the contradictions of intimacy in a hyper-digital world. Bunnylovr is as provocative, as it is vulnerable, and we are so proud to champion such a bold debut. We cannot wait to bring Bunnylovr to audiences this coming April.”
In her review of Bunnylovr for THR, critic Lovia Gyarkye wrote, “Bunnylovr‘s strengths are in its engaging character study of a languid young woman who came of age online.”
The poster for Bunnylovr.
Courtesy
