Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment partnered to acquire Emily the Criminal, the Sundance 2022 critically-acclaimed thriller, with an original screenplay and directorial debut by John Patton Ford, starring and produced by Aubrey Plaza (Black Bear, Ingrid Goes West). Plaza stars opposite Theo Rossi (American Skin, Army of the Dead) as well as Megalyn Echikunwoke (Late Night, Damsels in Distress), and Gina Gershon (Blockers, Bound).

The film is slated for a 2022 exclusive theatrical release.

The film follows Emily (Plaza) who is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism, and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef. Together, they hatch a plan to bring their business to the next level in Los Angeles.

The filmmakers said in a joint statement, “We continue to believe in the importance of the theatrical experience and the power of watching movies together on a big screen and couldn’t be more excited and confident in our stellar partners at Roadside and Vertical to connect our film with audiences everywhere.”=