Ramzi Bashour’s Sundance Title ‘Hot Water,’ Starring Lubna Azabal, Acquired by Films Boutique (EXCLUSIVE)

Films Boutique has picked up international sales rights to “Hot Water,” which has been selected for Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition. Cinetic Media is handling North American sales.

“Hot Water” is Syrian-American filmmaker Ramzi Bashour’s feature debut. Bashour, who wrote the script, was a Sundance Fellow in 2022, 2023 and 2024 with the project.

The film follows an American kid and his Lebanese mom, who – after he’s kicked out of his Indiana high school – hit the road west.

The cast includes Lubna Azabal, known for two Oscar nominated films, Hany Abu-Assad’s “Paradise Now” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies,” and “The Blue Caftan” by Maryam Touzani.

Also in the cast is Daniel Zolghadri, seen recently in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and Alex Russell’s “Lurker,” as well as “Funny Pages,” directed by Owen Kline.

Also in the cast is Dale Dickey, who starred in Max Walker-Silverman’s “A Love Song” and Debra Granik’s Oscar-nominated “Winter’s Bone,” and in series like “Breaking Bad” and “True Blood.”

Films Boutique’s CEO, Jean-Christophe Simon, said: “We are glad to head back to Park City, for one last time, with such a gem as Ramzi’s first feature. His take on the traditional North American road story will rejoice American and international audiences alike. Ramzi is a talent, and the film will clearly be one of the beautiful discoveries of the festival for international festivals and buyers.”

The producers are Jesse Hope, Walker-Silverman and Josh Peters. The director of photography is Alfonso Herrera Salcedo; the production designer is Juliana Barreto Barreto; the costume designer is Stine Dahlman; and the editor is Mollie Goldstein. Casting is by Ann Goulder; sound design is by Javier Umpierrez; and music is by Bashour and James Elkington.

Bashour grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, but is now based in New York. An alumnus of the NYU graduate film program, his thesis short “The Trees” won the International Special Jury Prize at Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival and the main jury prize at Prague Shorts. Bashour was featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces in Independent Film.”

He was an associate producer on Walker-Silverman’s feature debut, “A Love Song,” which premiered in Sundance in 2022.