Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Amat Escalante’s horror-fantasy “The Untamed” on the eve of its screening at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

“The Untamed,” titled “La Region Salvaje” and set in Guanajuato, had its world premiere at the 2016 Venice Film Festival and was then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Escalante won the Silver Lion at Venice for Best Director. Strand is planning a late-summer release.

The movie was inspired by two tragic incidents that Escalante read in the papers in Guanajuato, leading to a strange unique tale that intertwines the bits of true crime with an other worldly experience.

The deal was done between Jon Gerrans and Marcus Hu of Strand Releasing and Michael Weber of The Match Factory.

“We are thrilled to work once more with long-time partners in the US and bringing Amat Escalante, such a great, talented filmmaker of Mexican cinema to the right home,” Weber said. “‘The Untamed (La Región Salvaje) is in best hands with Strand Releasing for an exciting release in North America.”

“‘The Untamed’ is completely original vision from Escalante, one that reflects the kind of auteurs that fits the Strand library,” said Gerrans.

The acquisition comes in the wake of the San Francisco Film Festival’s new market initiative, aimed at bringing in both sales agents and buyers for industry networking.

“It’s heartening that in our first year of doing a curated sales platform that one of our favorite films in the festival has been acquired here by one of our strongest supporters in the distribution community,” said Noah Cowen, executive director of the festival. “Strand shares SF Films’ values in promoting global cinema and the belief that championing international storytellers like Amat Escalante represents a heroic commitment to storytelling without borders.”

Escalante also directed Mexican crime thriller “Heli” and won the best director prize award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.