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Netflix to release Idris Elba's 'Beasts of No Nation' film in theaters and online

"Beasts of No Nation is a powerful film that unfolds beautifully in the hands of director Cary Fukunaga with Idris Elba delivering a career-defining performance," says Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer.

By Karen Butler
Actor Idris Elba attends the 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival awards gala at Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California on Jan. 4, 2014. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Actor Idris Elba attends the 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival awards gala at Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California on Jan. 4, 2014. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

BEVERLY HILLS , Calif., March 3 (UPI) -- Netflix says it plans to release the film Beasts of No Nation in theaters and online later this year.

Written and directed by True Detective's Cary Fukunaga, the drama stars Idris Elba. It is based on the acclaimed novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala and tells the story of Agu, a child soldier torn from his family to fight in the civil war of an African country.

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Newcomer Abraham Attah plays Agu, while Elba portrays Commandant, a warlord who takes in Agu and instructs him in the ways of war.

"Beasts of No Nation is a powerful film that unfolds beautifully in the hands of director Cary Fukunaga with Idris Elba delivering a career-defining performance," Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said in a statement Tuesday. "We are so proud to bring a film of this caliber exclusively to Netflix members around the world at the same time as it appears in select theaters."

"Making this film has been one of the most profound professional experiences of our careers. Everyone, from Cary to our production assistants, sacrificed so much to make this film authentically in West Africa, where Uzo's story was set," added Daniela Taplin Lundberg, co-founder of Red Crown Productions. "To know that this harrowing and beautiful movie is going to reach the more than 50 million people within Netflix's reach is beyond our wildest dreams. The Netflix team is bold and has the same pioneering spirit about distribution that I like to think we had about making the film in the jungles of Ghana. We could not be happier about this partnership."

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