IFC Films has announced that it will release writer/director Richard Linklater’s phenomenal 12-years-in-the-making drama Boyhood this summer on July 11th.  The film stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as a divorced couple raising their son (Ellar Coltrane), and it was shot over a period of 12 years.  Linkalter filmed scenes for the pic every year for over a decade with the same actors, and the result is a movie that tracks the adolescence of young Mason through the formative experiences that shape and mold him into the man he will become.  I caught the pic at Sundance and it’s a tremendous, highly emotional achievement.  It’s truly amazing to see Coltrane literally grow up onscreen, and Linklater perfectly encapsulates the shared human experience of “growing up” with grace and poignancy.

Hit the jump to read the full press release and click here to read Matt’s review from Sundance.  When Boyhood reaches a theater near you, I implore you to seek it out.  It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Here’s the press release:

New York, NY (March 27, 2014) - IFC Films announced today that Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD will open in US theaters on July 11. With a screenplay by Linklater, the film stars Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and Lorelei Linklater. BOYHOOD had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival.

Filmed over short periods from 2002 to 2013, BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking cinematic experience covering 12 years in the life of a family. At the center is Mason, who with his sister Samantha, is taken on an emotional and transcendent journey through the years, from childhood to adulthood.

BOYHOOD was produced by Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland, Jonathan Sehring and John Sloss, and was fully financed by IFC Films.

IFC Films is a sister label to IFC Midnight and Sundance Selects, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.