After what I heard and read was a strong debut at the Sundance Film Festival yesterday, Ryan Coogler's feature film debut Fruitvale, which stars Octavia Spencer, Michael B. Jordan, Tristan Wilds and Melonie Diaz, is said to now be in the middle of what looks like a bidding war between several distributors who are very interested in the film.

Deadline is reporting that the drama, based on the murder of 22-year old Oscar Grant (played by Jordan in the film), and produced by Forest Whitaker, is "at the center of a multi-distributor auction that will be wrapped up first thing Monday morning at Sundance," adding further that the end deal, whenever bidding is complete, will be "worth just north of a $2 million minimum guarantee with commitments for screen commitments and a theatrical release, with P&A."

Nice!

And what distribution companies are in the mix? The biggies, like The Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight, with Paramount Pictures and Focus Features.

In fact, word from Deadline is that buyers are calling it this year's Precious or Beast Of The Southern Wild, as in the little indie film that goes on to capture audiences and critical acclaim, as it travels throughout the year.

Performances are said to be strong, notably star Michael B Jordan's. So might we be talking awards season buzz for Mr Jordan in about 10 months? We'll see.

We should be getting a review from Zeba Blay some time today.

But kudos all around. I'm looking forward to seeing it sooner than later.