According to Deadline, Quiver Distribution has successfully acquired the North American distribution rights to Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen’s upcoming directorial debut film titled Falling, centering around a middle-aged gay man as he deals with his conservative father’s early stages of dementia. Quiver is planning to release the film on February 5, 2021 in U.S theaters and on digital and VOD.
“Viggo Mortensen has fashioned a complex tale of love lost and regained that explores generational tensions,” Quiver co-presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman said in a statement. “This is a stunning directorial debut from Viggo with a standout performance from Lance Henriksen, and we are excited to see this one through the awards season.”
“While not strictly autobiographical, some events and conversations in Falling are inspired by the childhood I shared with my two brothers, Charles and Walter, to whom the movie is dedicated.” Mortensen said. “It is a complex story, layered throughout with the subjective, imperfect memories of its principal characters. Most people, it seems to me, yearn to be seen and heard, and thrive on empathy. It took me a long time to accept my own father as he was, with as little judgment as possible, but I’m glad that I eventually did so. And he returned the gesture, for which I’ll always be grateful. Falling is, in large part, about the importance of accepting and forgiving, of learning to live with others and with oneself. I feel very fortunate to be collaborating with Quiver in order to bring this story of hard-won grace and compassion to U.S. audiences.”
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In Falling, John lives with his partner, Eric , and their daughter, Mónica, in California, far from the traditional rural life he left behind years ago. John’s father, Willis, a headstrong man from a bygone era, lives alone on the isolated farm where John grew up. Willis is in the early stages of dementia, making running the farm on his own increasingly difficult, so John brings him to stay at his California home so that he and his sister Sarah might help him find a place near them to relocate to. Unfortunately, their best intentions ultimately run up against Willis’s adamant refusal to change his way of life in the slightest.
The film stars Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eastern Promises), Lance Henriksen (Alien), and Golden Globe winner Laura Linney (Frasier, Ozark). It will also feature Terry Chen, Gabby Velis, Sverrir Gudnason, Hannah Gross, and Bracken Burns.
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Falling is written and directed by Mortensen, who also produced the film along with Chris Curling and Daniel Bekerman. The film had its world premiere earlier this year at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
