Pantelion Films has acquired the U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to the suspense thriller Hours, directed by Eric Heisserer (Final Destination 5, The Thing) and starring Paul Walker and Genesis Rodriguez, it was announced today by Pantelion Films CEO Paul Presburger. Pantelion will distribute the film theatrically and on VOD in the U.S. on December 13, 2013.
Hours is produced by the Safran Company (The Conjuring) in conjunction with Palmstar Media and the Hirsch Group. The deal was made by Rena Ronson on behalf of UTA and Pantelion’s Presburger.
Pantelion production executives Sandra Condito and Paul Michael Perez found the film, which is set during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and follows a father’s desperate attempt to keep his newborn daughter alive in the wake of the storm’s destruction, at this year’s SXSW Film Festival.
“The compelling story of ‘Hours,’ combined with Paul Walker and Genesis Rodriguez’s popularity with our core audience, makes this a perfect acquisition for us,” said Presburger. “Paul’s passion for this project was evident from our first meeting, and we are proud to partner with him and Peter Safran on this release.”
“We are pleased that ‘Hours’ has found a home at Pantelion,” said Safran. “The studio is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the opportunities the film presents.”
Before sunrise on August 29, 2005, Nolan Hayes (Walker) arrives at a New Orleans hospital with his pregnant wife, Abigail (Rodriguez), who has gone into early labor. What should be one of the happiest days of Nolan’s life quickly spirals out of control when the birth goes tragically wrong and Hurricane Katrina ravages the hospital, forcing an evacuation. Nolan and his newborn baby are soon cut off from the world by power outages and rising flood waters. With his baby completely dependent on a ventilator Nolan faces one life-and-death decision after another, fighting to keep his daughter alive, as minute by agonizing minute passes becoming unimaginable hours.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
