Tribeca Films, Tribeca Enterprises and Giant Pictures’ distribution label, has acquired the experimental indie comedy Serious People and will release the film from Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson, which first premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, later this year.
Serious People follows expectant father and successful music video director Pasqual (Gutierrez) who hires a look-alike to work in his place when he gets the opportunity for the job of a lifetime.
“Serious People was first and foremost a labor of love shared amongst lifelong friends, and for Ben and me, it was something we had talked about since we were post-grad roommates,” Gutierrez, who wrote and co-directed the film with Mullinkosson, said in a statement. “It is the kind of filmmaking you dream about when you’re a kid.”
Tribeca Enterprises co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal added, “Serious People embodies the inventive, fearless spirit of independent filmmaking that Tribeca Films was built to champion. Pasqual and Ben’s collaboration reflects the creativity, humor and heart that make audiences fall in love with indie film — and it’s a perfect finale to a year that celebrates bold voices and new perspectives.”
The film, partially based on true events, also stars Gutierrez’s real-life partner Christine Yuan, his directing partner RJ Sanchez and Miguel Huerta.
The film is produced by Ryan Hahn for HPLA, Laurel Thomson for Long Holiday and Teddy Lee. Executive producers include Jerad Anderson and Natasha Atalla Seubert for Florence and Christine D’Souza Gelb and Julia Nelson for 2AM, who brokered the sale of the film.
Serious People will hit theaters on Nov. 14 through independent artist-driven production and distribution company Memory, followed by a Dec. 16 digital release via Tribeca Films.
