EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to After Class, the family comedy starring Justin Long and Fran Drescher that had its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival under the title Safe Spaces.
Daniel Schechter (Life of Crime, Supporting Characters) wrote and directed the pic, which co-stars Richard Schiff, Lynn Cohen, Kate Berlant and Michael Godere. The distributor will release the pic in theaters day-and-date December 6.
Long plays a New York college professor who aims for his classroom to be a safe space for students, but a lesson plan pushes students to share more than they wish, forcing him take a deeper look at whether safe spaces live up to their name. He escapes from the college controversy to reconnect with his own unique family, who are navigating how to deal with the
emotions of having an ailing grandmother.
Courtenay Johnson, Lawrence Greenberg and Jordan Kessler are producers. Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor are executive producers.
“I’m really thrilled that not only did Gravitas acquire the film, but that they’re getting it out so quickly from the day of the premiere, which was just a few months ago,” Schechter said. “We all felt that After Class was just really timely and wanted to make the movie available for home audiences to see as soon as we possibly could.”
Added Gravitas Ventures’ Tony Piantedosi: “Daniel’s sharp script provides a witty and nuanced perspective on a timely subject, and the immensely talented ensemble delivers compassionate, hilarious performances.”
Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Julie Sultan at AMBI Group.
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.