TRIBECA FILM ACQUIRES THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY

Dennis Farina Anchors Powerful Character Portrait Made in Association with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Films, founded by the creators of the Theatre Company

New York, NY – Tribeca Film has announced that it has acquired all distribution rights in the US and Canada to The Last Rites of Joe May, an emotionally powerful drama centering on a hustler (Dennis Farina, Get Shorty, Midnight Run, Snatch) traveling a winding road to redemption. Joe May, written and directed by Joe Maggio and produced by Stephanie Striegel and Bill Straus in association with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Films, had its world premiere in competition at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. The title will be released in October on VOD and theatrically by Tribeca Film, which is supported by Founding Partner American Express, and brings films to consumers across a range of platforms, including nationwide VOD, theatrical, DVD, pay-TV and digital. The deal was negotiated by Nick Savva, Director of Acquisitions for Tribeca Film with Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films on behalf of the producers.

In the spirit of classic 1970’s filmmaking, Joe May is the story of a sixty-something Chicagoan named Joe May, a short-money hustler of Rolex knockoffs and bootleg DVDs. Joe returns home from a lengthy hospital stay only to find that his landlord thought he was dead and rented out his apartment to Jenny (Jamie Anne Allman, AMC’s The Killing), a single mom with a young daughter. Begrudgingly, Joe accepts Jenny’s offer to share the apartment. Joe attempts to plot his comeback scheme with help from an old contact (Gary Cole), but instead a domino effect gets everything going against him. With his health failing and resources dwindling, Joe is presented with one last shot at redemption in the eyes of a community that’s all but left him for dead. Farina’s Joe May “is designed in the classic tough-guy mold, but the veteran character-actor’s performance also serves to disassemble it,” observed indieWIRE when the film played TFF.

“I’m thrilled to have Tribeca handling the release of The Last Rites of Joe May,” said Maggio. “It’s a really personal film and Tribeca was so passionate about it, right from the beginning. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit.”

“Joe Maggio has imagined a character that resonates with subtlety and truth in addressing the realities of the final denouement of one’s life in The Last Rites of Joe May,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “Dennis Farina delivers the performance of his lifetime with a realism and vulnerability that we haven’t seen before.”

About Tribeca Film:

Tribeca Film is a comprehensive distribution label dedicated to acquiring and marketing independent films across multiple platforms, including video-on-demand, theatrical, digital, home video and television. It is an initiative from Tribeca Enterprises designed to provide new platforms for how film can be experienced, while supporting filmmakers and introducing audiences to films they might not otherwise see. American Express continues its support of Tribeca and the independent film community by serving as the Founding Partner of Tribeca Film.