Metrograph Pictures has acquired North American rights for Dea Kulumbegashvili’s Venice Special Jury prizewinner “April.”

The festival standout earned unanimous critical praise upon world premiering at Venice with Variety describing it as a “radical, shattering exploration of women’s lives, rights and bodies in peril.” The film, which received a prize from a Venice jury presided over by Isabelle Huppert, went on to play at Toronto and San Sebastian where it also nabbed an award. It will next screen at the New York Film Festival as part of its main slate. Metrograph Pictures will release the film in theaters next year.

“April” follows Nina, a skilled obstetrician at a maternity hospital in Eastern Georgia. “After a difficult delivery, an infant dies and the grief-stricken father demands an inquiry into her methods. The resulting scrutiny threatens to bring to light Nina’s secret side job—driving through the stunningly beautiful...