“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight,” the festival darling and actress-filmmaker Embeth Davidtz’s directorial debut, is getting worldwide distribution from Sony Pictures Classics, the company announced Thursday.

Fresh off a series of rave reviews out of Telluride and the Toronto International Film Festival, the movie is based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name and also stars Davidtz, previously of “Schindler’s List” and “Matilda” fame. She also notably co-starred in “Junebug” at Sony Pictures Classics alongside the breakout performance from Amy Adams.

“I am thrilled to be working with Sony Pictures Classics to bring ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ to audiences globally,” Davidtz said. “I previously worked with them when I starred in ‘Junebug’ and saw their passion and skill for bringing that film to the world. It is like a dream come true that they are now distributing my screenwriting and...