Alliance Films will bow the Canuck western All Hat in Vancouver Friday, ahead of its U.S. release in the spring and following a sold-out run on the Toronto International Film Festival’s Film Circuit.

Hat will play on one screen in Vancouver, with plans to expand to Toronto next week and other smaller communities, including Red Deer, AB, in the coming weeks. Based on the novel by Brad Smith, Hat follows a mild-mannered cowboy’s return to his horse farming community following a stint in jail. It stars Luke Kirby (The Stone Angel), Lisa Ray (Water), Keith Carradine (Into the West) and Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That).

The film, directed by Ontario helmer Leonard Farlinger, had a warm greeting at its premiere at TIFF last year, according to producer Jennifer Jonas of Toronto’s New Real Films (Monkey Warfare, Cake).

‘The reception was great…as far as I know we were one of the only Canadian films that sold to the U.S. during the fest,’ Jonas, who was en route to Sundance, tells Playback Daily. The producer is looking for international sales for Bruce LaBruce’s horror comedy Otto; or, Up with Dead People, which will have its world premiere at the indie fest on Saturday.

Hat, which sold to New York-based Screen Media, will debut in the U.S. on May 27. Jonas says the fact that Hat was one of two Canadian films chosen for TIFF’s Film Circuit program — along with Paolo Barzman’s Emotional Arithmetic — has been a lucky break.

‘Everywhere we’ve gone so far, the film’s sold out. The job that the Film Circuit does in terms of raising awareness for Canadian films is so satisfying,’ she adds.

Film Circuit makes festival and indie films available to moviegoers in underserved communities throughout Canada such as Brandon, MB and Chatham, ON.

Meanwhile, Mongrel Media will open the extreme-skiing documentary Steep, from director Mark Obenhaus, on Friday at Toronto’s Carlton theater, followed by Vancouver and Whistler next week.

Also opening is Andrew Wagner’s indie drama Starting Out in the Evening, which will play in Toronto and Montreal through Maple Pictures. The Toronto distributor will release Sylvester Stallone’s sequel actioner Rambo next week.

Among wide U.S. releases in theaters Friday is the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy 27 Dresses, from 20th Century Fox, facing off against J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi thriller Cloverfield from Paramount Pictures. Alliance will bow the ensemble comedy Mad Money, starring Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes.