‘Tangles,’ Hand-Drawn Cannes Standout, Lands at Independent Film Company for Oscar-Qualifying Run (EXCLUSIVE)

Independent Film Company (formerly branded IFC) and Sapan Studio have acquired North American rights to “Tangles,” the hand-drawn animated feature and directorial debut of Leah Nelson, and will mount an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run before year’s end, Variety can exclusively reveal.

IFC will open the film in select theaters later this year, ahead of a wider theatrical expansion in early 2027 — planting the deeply personal drama squarely in this season’s best animated feature race.

“Tangles” had its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival as an Official Selection Special Screening — where it drew a lengthy standing ovation — and will make its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Sept., where it screens as part of the Centerpiece program. The pickup extends a fertile run for IFC in animation. The distributor — whose recent slate includes the Oscar-nominated stop-motion feature “Memoir of a Snail” — has become a reliable home for the adult-driven, handcrafted films now pushing their way into a best animated feature race long dominated by the major studios.

Adapted by Nelson, Trev Renney and Sarah Leavitt from Leavitt’s acclaimed graphic memoir “Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me,” the film tells its story through expressive, predominantly black-and-white animation. It is a poignant and unexpectedly funny portrait of a family navigating profound change, tracing the toll of early-onset Alzheimer’s alongside the more universal bonds between parents and children, the identities we build away from home and the humor and resilience that endure as memory begins to slip.

The film features a stacked voice cast led by Abbi Jacobson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Beanie Feldstein, Seth Rogen and Samira Wiley, with Pamela Adlon, Sarah Silverman, Bowen Yang, Wanda Sykes, Phil Rosenthal, Adam Shapiro, Pat Finn and Sugar Lyn Beard rounding out the ensemble.

“We have found in IFC a partner who connected deeply with our film and understands what makes ‘Tangles’ so special,” Nelson wrote in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be working with a team that is putting their whole heart behind its release, and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”

“’Tangles’ is one of those rare films that can be deeply specific and profoundly universal at the same time,” said Ayo Kepher-Maat, vice president of IFC Entertainment Group acquisitions and productions. “Leah has created something visually singular, extraordinarily moving and also genuinely funny, a film that looks honestly at an experience millions of families understand while never allowing illness to define its characters. At its heart, this is a story about family, identity, love and the complicated process of growing up. After its remarkable reception at Cannes, we are incredibly proud to partner with Sapan Studio to bring ‘Tangles’ to audiences.”

“Tangles” is produced by Vicky Patel, Steve Barnett and Alan Powell of Monarch Media; Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Alex McAtee and Madeline Blair of Point Grey Pictures; Ross Murray, Teresa Toews, Jay Grandin and Nelson through Giant Ant; Lauren Miller Rogen, Jen W. Ray and Sophie Hoegh through LYLAS Pictures; and Louis-Dreyfus. Kepher-Maat negotiated the deal on behalf of Independent Film Company, with UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance representing the filmmakers.