Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Chase Infiniti’s ‘The Julia Set’

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired The Julia Set, giving Niki Byrne’s feature directorial debut a theatrical path after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The distributor secured rights in the United States and a broad group of international markets, with a release planned for next year.

A breakout role built around competitive mathematics

Chase Infiniti leads the coming-of-age drama as Julia Fischer, a gifted young mathematician recruited into an elite preparation course built around an exceptionally demanding exam. Her academic ambitions become entangled with a relationship involving teaching assistant Pascal, played by Christopher Briney, placing personal pressure alongside the film’s competitive setting.

The supporting cast includes Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as Pascal’s parents, as well as Nina Hoss, Carmen Ejogo, Chloe Bailey, Nico Hiraga, Liz Lin and Alex Dillard. Byrne wrote and directed the film, which was produced through a group that includes Jeffrey Penman, Nick Scherma, Shaun Sanghani and Anderson.

Sony Pictures Classics plans a wide theatrical rollout

The acquisition covers the United States along with the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the Benelux region and several other territories. Poland and Singapore are among the specific exclusions listed in the announced rights package. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Byrne said the deal places her debut with a distributor she has associated with distinctive theatrical filmmaking throughout her life. Sony Pictures Classics, in turn, highlighted the story’s mix of academic pressure, class, family conflict, romance and bullying, while describing Infiniti as the center of the film’s suspenseful emotional arc.

The sale extends the momentum generated by The Julia Set at Toronto, where Infiniti’s performance drew attention after her feature debut in One Battle After Another. The acquisition also turns that festival response into a concrete next step: audiences in multiple regions are now set to receive the film in theaters rather than waiting on an undefined distribution plan.