Kino Lorber Acquires Reed Van Dyk’s ‘Atonement’ Starring Hiam Abbass, Boyd Holbrook & Kenneth Branagh

Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Reed Van Dyk’s Iraq War drama Atonement, starring Hiam Abbass, Boyd Holbrook, and Kenneth Branagh.

Based on the New Yorker article by Dexter Filkins, the film was written and directed by Van Dyk and debuted in the Quinzaine competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Kino Lorber will release the film this fall.

Inspired by true events, the film is set during the early days of the Iraq War, when a U.S. Marine’s split-second decision during a firefight devastates an Iraqi family. Years later, aided by a New Yorker journalist, the Marine seeks to reconcile with the woman and her family who survived.

Speaking with Deadline about the inspiration behind the film at Cannes, Van Dyk said: “I was just a New Yorker reader and found myself crying through this non-fiction piece. I don’t know that I was able to articulate then what was so touching to me about it. But I did feel this pull to make it.”

Atonement is a Star Thrower Entertainment, Redline Entertainment, and Talon Entertainment production. The film is produced by Trevor White, Tim White, David M. Wulf, Van Dyk, and Steven Demmler and executive produced by Wayne L. Rogers and Robert Van Dyk.

The deal for Atonement was negotiated by Kino Lorber VP of Acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer and WME.

“I’ve never seen a war film like Atonement,” Lisa Schwartz, Chief Distribution & Revenue Officer at Kino Lorber, said in a statement. “From its visceral, heart-stopping opening scenes to its unexpected and poignant conclusion, Reed Van Dyk’s exceptional debut feature stayed with me for days after I first saw it at Cannes. Held together by an exquisite, shattering performance by Hiam Abbass, the film moves beyond traditional war narratives to ask the harder question of what it takes to truly forgive. We couldn’t be more proud to bring this extraordinary film to North American audiences this fall.”