NEON has announced that they have acquired worldwide rights to Robert Machoian’s powerful thriller The Killing of Two Lovers.  The film, with its honest and sometimes brutal portrayals of marriage,is driven by impressively nuanced performances by stars Clayne Crawford (“Rectify”, “Lethal Weapon”), Sepideh Moafi (“The Deuce”, “The L Word: Generation Q”), Chris Coy (“The Deuce”, The Front Runner, Detroit), Avery Pizzuto, Arri Graham, and Ezra Graham.  The Killing of Two Lovers, which made its World Premiere at Sundance 2020, received critical praise, with the Playlist calling it “a must see [and] a showcase of a radically talented filmmaker.” Charades is handling foreign sales.

The Killing of Two Lovers follows David, who desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife, Nikki. They both agree to see other people but David struggles to grapple with his wife’s new relationship.  The Hollywood Reporter calls the film “a transfixing drama without a wasted word or a single inessential scene.” 

Written and directed by Machoian, The Killing of Two Lovers marks the filmmaker’s first solo narrative feature. His most recent short, The Minors, garnered him the Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. NEON will be producing Machoian’s and Crawford’s next feature, details of which are currently kept under wraps.

Jeff Deutchman and Ayo Kepher-Maat negotiated the deal for NEON with The Exchange on behalf of the filmmakers who are represented by Kristine Blumensaadt at KLVB LLP.   The film is a Back40 Pictures presentation of a 433 Pictures production produced by Clayne Crawford and Robert Machoian.

Charades will be handling international sales beginning at AFM next week. 

The Killing of Two Lovers will be released by NEON on February 23, 2021 and will be eligible for consideration in this year’s awards season.