Magnolia Pictures has acquired world rights, excluding Spain, to director Nacho Vigalondo's sci-fier "Timecrimes."
The film world preemed at this year's Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, where it took the top feature prize. It will screen next week at the American Film Market, where Magnolia corporate cousin HDNet will handle overseas sales.
Magnolia will release the pic domestically sometime next year.
Vigalondo's 2003 short "7:35 in the Morning" was nominated for an Oscar but "Timecrimes" is his feature debut. Story concerns a man who travels back in time and runs into himself, setting into motion a disastrous chain of unforeseeable consequences.
Pic's aesthetic recalls that of classic American crime films, but the story is closer in spirit to the work of Philip K. Dick and Stanislaw Lem. Several studios are pursuing English-language remake rights, according to Magnolia.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com