David Farnor | On 04, Apr 2016

Netflix will release Sundance hit The Fundamentals of Caring this June..

The film, which closed the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, was snapped up by the streaming giant for a record-breaking sum. Based on the novel by Jonathan Evison and written, directed and produced by Rob Burnett, it stars Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, Megan Ferguson and Frederick Weller.

The film follows the story of Ben, a retired writer who becomes a caregiver after suffering a personal tragedy. After 6 weeks of training, Ben meets his first client, Trevor, a foul-mouthed 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralysed emotionally, one paralysed physically, Ben and Trevor take an impromptu road trip to all the places Trevor has become obsessed with, while watching the local news, including their holy grail: the World’s Deepest Pit. Along the way, they pick up a sassy runaway and a mother-to-be who help test the pair’s survival skills outside of their calculated existence as they come to understand the importance of hope and true friendship.

The movie will get a theatrical awards qualifying run in the US, with Netflix then releasing the film globally on Friday 24th June 2016. The acquisition of the film at the festival was one of several VOD deals, as both Amazon and Netflix increasingly target indie productions for their own original and exclusive slates. Here’s a full rundown of the Sundance deals completed this year.

Photo: Sundance / Levantine Films

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