IFC Films has nabbed North American rights to “Farewell Amor,” the story of Angolan immigrants making a life for themselves in New York City, Variety has learned.

The film received critical acclaim when it premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It is written and directed by Sundance Institute fellow Ekwa Msangi and marks her feature directorial debut. IFC Films will release “Farewell Amor” in December of 2020.

The film centers on Walter, who reunites with his family 17 years after being forced to leave Angola for New York City. His wife, Esther, and daughter, Sylvia, quickly discover how the years of separation have turned them into absolute strangers while living together in Walter’s one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. Dance becomes a way for them to reconnect.

In a positive review, Variety‘s Jessica Kiang hailed the performances, as well as the filmmaking prowess behind the movie. “‘Farewell Amor’ marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell,” she wrote. “The ‘Farewell’ of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

Brent Lang