Magnolia Pictures Buys Venice Hit ‘Blue Jean’ for North America

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International Editor Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights to Venice Film Festival sensation “Blue Jean.” The directorial debut of Georgia Oakley, which just world-premiered in the Venice Days section of the Italian festival, is set in England in 1988, where Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians.

The new legislation forces Jean (Rosy McEwen), a closeted gym teacher, to live a double life. But as pressure mounts from all sides, the arrival of a new student catalyzes a crisis that will challenge Jean to her core.

The movie features a powerhouse performance by McEwen, and won Venice’s Giornate degli Autori (GdA) People’s Choice award. Magnolia plans to release the film next year. “Blue Jean” was an early standout at the Venice Film Festival, which wrapped on Saturday, selling into powerhouse distributor Altitude for the U.K.

and Ireland in the first week itself. Variety critic Guy Lodge said that “Oakley’s restrained yet powerfully poised film doesn’t shoot for fuzzy big-picture universality.