“Donnie Darko,” a cult drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a disturbed teenager, is getting a new theatrical release, featuring 20 minutes of never-before-seen footage.

Newmarket Films, which released the film in 2001, is unveiling a director’s cut at the Seattle Film Festival on May 29. It plans to release the film theatrically in Seattle before moving into other markets later in the summer.

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FUCKING AWESOME. I can’t think of a movie that more deserves a re-release. And if the DVD is any indication, the director’s cut will be amazing. So many crucial moments were deleted from the original theatrical release — especially the scene where Donnie’s therapist tells him that she had him on sugar pills, and that there’s nothing wrong with him.

It’s been interesting to see the delayed response to this movie. Gary Jules’ song from the soundtrack, “Mad World,” has been in heavy rotation on several Seattle radion stations in the last few months…despite the fact that it was released in 2001. It’s so rare that indie films get a second chance — and I’m so glad that Richard Kelly has made it happen!

(Thanks to Brodie for the heads-up on the re-release.)