Focus Features Buys Sundance Comedy ‘Brian and Charles’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaFocus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “Brian and Charles,” a quirky and heartfelt comedy about an unlikely friendship that debuted to rave reviews this week at the Sundance Film Festival.The film centers on Brian, a lonely inventor in rural Wales, who builds unconventional contraptions that rarely work.

He soon sets out on his biggest project yet — spending three days to turn a washing machine and various spare parts into Charles, an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and has an obsession with cabbages.Polygon’s Oli Welsh praised the film’s “warmth and tenderness” while Thrillist’s Esther Zuckerman wrote that the movie is “adorably whimsical and downright touching.” Director Jim Archer developed the film with Film4, which co-funded the production, and the BFI, which awarded funds from the National Lottery.

It is based on a short film that Archer created and written by David Earl and Chris Hayward and produced by Rupert Majendie for Mr Box Productions.

The executive producers are Damian Jones, Mary Burke for the BFI, and Lauren Dark and Ollie Madden for Film4.Commented Majendie and director Jim Archer: “We have been so blown away by the reaction to the film from the Sundance audience and also want to say a huge thank you to the amazing teams at Film4, BFI & Bankside.