Kino Lorber Buys Rights to Clio Barnard Drama With 8 BIFA Noms

Kino Lorber has acquired the North American rights to Clio Barnard's new feature, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning. The studio plans a theatrical release for 2027, followed by digital, educational, and home video formats. This acquisition brings the film to U.S. audiences after it accumulated eight nominations from the British Independent Film Awards.

The movie centers on five childhood friends from Birmingham who reach the age of thirty. Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli, and Conor grew up skipping school and dreaming of better lives. Now, the pressures of adulthood have tested their bond. Patrick and Shiv are married but face strain from an old secret. Oli struggles with excessive partying. Conor expects a baby and holds a business plan. Rian works in property development in London but feels disconnected from his hometown.

Anthony Boyle leads the cast, supported by Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack, and Lola Petticrew. The screenplay was adapted by Enda Walsh from a novel by Keiran Goddard. Walsh previously wrote Die My Love and Small Things Like These. Tracy O'Riordan of Moonspun Films produced the project. The film received National Lottery funding from the British Film Institute and was developed with BBC Film, TPC, Charades, and Curzon Film.

The project made its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight during the Cannes Film Festival. It received the people's choice audience award there. It later screened at the Rome Film Festival, where it won the top prize in the progressive cinema competition. Boyle also shared the best actor prize at that event.

Karoliina Dwyer, vice president of acquisitions at Kino Lorber, negotiated the deal with Charades and Gersh. She described the film as a beautifully observed coming-of-age story. Dwyer noted that the cast captures the warmth and vulnerability of the central friendship. Barnard called the characters her favorite company and expressed a desire to share the struggles of their generation. This is Barnard's fifth feature as a director. Her previous film, Ali & Ava, also premiered at Cannes and won two British Independent Film Awards.