Briarcliff Entertainment Lands Historical Drama ‘Kent State’ Starring Dermot Mulroney

Justin Kroll
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to the gripping historical drama Kent State from writer, director Karen Slade. The film will star Dermot Mulroney, Clancy Brown, Aksel Hennie, Christopher Backus, Christopher Ammanuel, Andrew Ortenberg and Jacqueline Emerson.

Grandave International is handling foreign sales on the film. The pic will begin filming this November in Columbus, GA with a US theatrical release anticipated for 2023.

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Inspired by true events, the movie tells the story of how a family’s buried past coincides with the brutal truth of one of the most significant events in American history, when the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of student protestors, killing four, and injuring 7 on May 4th, 1970, at Kent State University. Told through the perspective of Will McCormack in two time periods in his life, the film asks the question of not just what happened then, but why these kinds of events continue to happen.

“The Kent State shooting was a dark and pivotal moment in our nation’s history,” said Briarcliff’s Tom Ortenberg. “This is a story that needs to be told and surprisingly never has. We are looking forward to bringing it to the big screen to educate and inspire both the young and old alike.”

Written and directed by Slade, the pic will be produced by Quincy Morris and Kristen Moser. Executive Producers include Jeffrey Aborn and his Duality Capital LLC, Kevin Beer of Beer Money Worldwide, Stanley Preschutti, Tom Ortenberg and Jessica Rose.

The deal was negotiated by Briarcliff’s Jessica Rose and Tom Ortenberg and by Slade, Moser and Jesse Weiner on behalf of the filmmakers.

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