Apple is active at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which officially kicked-off last Thursday. Variety reports this evening that Apple’s first purchase at Sundance is a film called “Hala,” which is described as a coming-of-age drama.
The film is written and directed by Minhal Baig, with Jada Pinkett Smith serving as executive producer. It’s unclear how much Apple paid for the film.
The film stars Geraldine Viswanathan in the title role, as well as Purbi Josh, Azad Khan, Gabriel Luna, and Anna Chlumsky.
Apple has generally focused on TV series for its upcoming streaming service but has made a handful of notable film acquisitions as well. Apple has had some presence at Sundance since at least 2016. Likewise, the company has sent executives to other festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival. Earlier this month, the company inked its first film collaboration with A24, as well.
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- Apple working with film studio A24 to produce movies and TV shows
- Apple strikes multi-year original content deal with Oprah
- Apple in talks with Irish-based animation studio Cartoon Saloon, hints at possible film
- Apple’s first film collaboration with A24 is ‘On the Rocks,’ reuniting Bill Murray & Sofia Coppola
- Apple is already shaking up the entertainment industry with direct movie studio deals before video service launches
