Lions Gate plucks 'Roses'
N.A. rights sold for Loach's pic
The shingle won out over several other suitors, including Palm Pictures.
Pic, an official competition selection at Cannes, was written by Paul Laverty and produced by Rebecca O'Brien. Film was produced by U.K.-based Parallax Pictures in association with Road Movies Film Prods and Torna Sol/Alta Films Prods.
Set in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, pic centers two Latina sisters who work as cleaners in a downtown office block and their fight for the right to unionize.
Pic features actors Poilar Padilla, Elpidia Carrillo, Adrien Brody, George Lopez and Alonso Chavez as well as real-life activists Roscio Saenz, Mayron Payes and singer-songwriter Jesus "Chuy" Perez.
"I was personally overwhelmed by the film," said co-president of Lions Gate Films Releasing Tom Ortenberg.
Added co-prexy Mark Urman: "Ken Loach is one of the world's greatest directors, and we are so proud to bring his first film set in America to U.S. audiences."
"We are thrilled to be in business with one of the best independent distributors in the industry," said Alison Thompson, CEO of the Sales Co. "Tom and Mark's overwhelming enthusiasm for the film, their expertise in marketing and distributing specialized films, and Tom's background as a political activist were the key factors in our decision to go with them."
