IFC Midnight announced that the company is acquiring North American distribution rights to director Todd Rohal’s comedy THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM. The company also acquired television and digital rights for the picture in France, Benelux, Spain, Portugal, East-Central Europe, Turkey, and Greece. The film, which was also written by Rohal, stars Steve Little (EASTBOUND & DOWN), Robert Longstreet (SEPTIEN), and Wally Dalton (THE OFF HOURS). Longstreet also executive produced the project, and David Gordon Green, Megan Griffiths, Jody Hill, Lacey Leavitt, Danny McBride, and Matt Reilly additionally served as producers. The film world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and is also scheduled to play at the upcoming 2011 SXSW Film Festival in the Emerging Visions section.

Father Billy (Little), a young priest, is forced to take a sabbatical by his superiors when he is discovered telling inappropriate parables to his flock. Billy tracks down his high-school idol Robbie (Longstreet), who begrudgingly agrees to a canoe trip. On the water, the two men reminisce about Billy’s days as the keyboardist in a Christian band and Robbie’s as a guitarist for a metal band. When night approaches, they realize they have lost their way—and that’s when things get weird.

Storytelling in all its forms is skewered in The Catechism Cataclysm. This shish kebab of wild characters melts together stories within stories until the lines between the Bible, Mark Twain, and campfire tales are wiped out, and the viewer is carried down the river into a divinely bizarre and funny tale.
Father Billy, a young priest who has lost interest in the church, decides to take a sabbatical. He tracks down his high-school friend Robbie, who begrudgingly agrees to a canoe trip. On the water, the two men reminisce about Billy’s days as the keyboardist in a Christian band and Robbie’s as a guitarist for a metal band, but when night approaches, they realize they have lost their way—and that’s when things get weird.

Buoyed by commanding comedic performances and deft handling by director Todd Rohal, The Catechism Cataclysm spins a fantastic yarn that shines a light on the power of absurd fiction. | Sundance Film Festival