Searching for Grace: Tribeca Film & Focus World Pact on ‘Greetings from Tim Buckley’

Blame a 2012 Toronto Int. Film Fest edition that was simply too stuffed to the gills to present the film at a better venue (it played thrice – a pair of screenings at the Bloor Hot Docs theatre and once at the multiplex), Dan Algrant’s Greetings from Tim Buckley might stand a better chance at wowing future audiences as it just landed a distribution deal where Tribeca Film will handle theatrical in 2013 and Focus World will diffuse the biopic via the VOD route.

Gist: Written by Algrant, Emma Sheanshang and David Brendel, this follows the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute concert in St. Ann’s Church. Struggling with the legacy of a man he barely knew (Penn Badgley – see interview below) finds solace in a relationship with an enigmatic young woman (Ms. Poots) working at the show. While they discover each other and New York City, the film also explores Tim’s (Mr. Rosenfield) 1960s heyday, as he drives cross-country with a girlfriend and finds himself on the verge of stardom.

Worth Noting: Mystery White Boy is the other “Jeff Buckley biopic” currently in the works – however, the trades haven’t announced any other updates since the one where documentarian Amy Berg (West of Memphis) was reportedly attached to direct.

Do We Care?: Despite missing the film at TIFF and being totally unfamiliar with Buckley, we’ll we wait for a biopic that contains Buckley’s musical legacy, there is a better chance we end up seeing Greetings from Tim Buckley than say Algrant’s four-week 2002 wrecked Miramax release of his last film, People I Know starring Al Pacino.