Sexually Charged Indie Comedy ‘Paying for It’ Lands U.S. Distribution With Film Movement (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Indie distributor Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to “Paying for It,” an indie comedy about an introverted cartoonist who starts sleeping with sex workers that premiered positively in Toronto.

Set in the late ’90s, “Paying for It” is a live-action adaptation of Canadian alternative-cartoonist Chester Brown’s bestselling graphic novel.

In the partly autobiographical film, when Chester’s girlfriend announces she wants to explore other romantic options, Brown opts to sleep with sex workers and discovers a new kind of intimacy. “Paying for It” is directed by multidisciplinary artist Sook-Yin Lee, who was Chester Brown’s real romantic partner when the real-life story took place.

The film – which is executive produced by John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Shortbus”) and Dan Beirne – stars Beirne (“Twentieth Century,” “Priscilla”), emerging actor Emily Lê (“Riceboy Sleeps”) and acclaimed activist, author and performer Andrea Werhun (“Modern Whore, Thriving: A Dissociative Reverie”). “Paying for It” launched from Toronto’s Platform section in 2024 and was named by TIFF programmers one of Canada’s top 10 films of the year. “With a distinctive voice and a lot of humor, Sook-Yin Lee has really captured the complications and contradictions surrounding intimate love and sex with ‘Paying for It,’” said Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg in a statement. “And when you add the fact that Sook-Yin also happens to be Chester Brown’s real-life ex, it adds an additional layer to a movie we’re sure audiences will find quirky, funny and moving.” The U.S.