Ryan Gosling's 'Lost River' to screen at the SXSW Film Festival

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Ryan Gosling's directorial debut film Lost River is to open April 10 for a theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles, Warner Bros. Pictures announced.

Written and helmed by Gosling, the movie will also be available the same day via national digital release in the United States. This news comes the same day as the announcement of the drama's North American premiere as part of the SXSW Film Festival, which is to run March 13-21 in Austin, Texas.

Described in press notes as "a dark fairytale about love, family and the fight for survival in the face of danger," the film stars Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith, Reda Kateb, Barbara Steele, Eva Mendes and Ben Mendelsohn.

"Ryan is one of the most exciting actors of his generation and Lost River reveals that he is also one of its most promising young directors," Sue Kroll, President of Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, said in a statement Tuesday. "His debut film is a singular vision of stranded people finding connection in a broken world. We believe in this film and in Ryan as a director, and are delighted to be working with him in this new role. This is a great opportunity to give audiences the chance to discover this compelling, original work for themselves."

"By capitalizing on the growing variety of film release opportunities, we can better target the right audience and give Lost River a bigger and more focused voice than it would have if we put it exclusively in theaters. We are excited to see the result," added Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures.

"I am excited that Lost River is being released by Warner Bros. and having its North American premiere at SXSW," said Gosling. "It's a small specialty film, so for me, this day-and-date theatrical and digital release plan provides the best of both worlds. It allows those who are interested in seeing my film in a theater to do so without excluding the majority of people who don't have access to a specialty cinema. VOD is giving a new life to independent cinema and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to showcase the wonderful work of my cast and crew on such a broad platform."