In keeping with its commitment to making the best international films available to American audiences, Tribeca Film has acquired the North American rights to No Rest for the Wicked (No habra paz para los malvados), which won a staggering six Goya Awards (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar) including Best Film. After an eight-year absence from moviemaking, celebrated director Enrique Urbizu (Box 507, Life Marks) makes a remarkable return with this powerful film.

Screening at the acclaimed Fantastic Fest in Austin this Saturday, the Spanish thriller centers on Santos Trinidad (a powerful José Coronado), a dirty cop with a violent streak and a penchant for vice. During a drunken binge, he murders three people in a bar in front of a terrified witness who escapes from the building, successfully evading  Santos. While Santos sets out to cover up his crimes, a judge and the police conduct an investigation into the murders, slowly revealing a massive criminal conspiracy that no one could have ever anticipated.

With the thriller’s intertwining plot lines and explosive results, it’s no wonder that No Rest for the Wicked was one of Spain’s top-grossing films of the year. The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as “tense [and] briskly paced,” and it is already attracting attention stateside. An American remake of the thriller is in the works with Sylvester Stallone in the role for which José Coronado won the prestigious Goya award.

Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, observes that, with this film, “Enrique Urbizu asserts his place at the top of the pantheon of Spanish directors, expertly immersing audiences in a police corruption story where you simultaneously root for and are repelled by its anti-heroes.” Gilmore also lauds the film’s combination of ”outstanding craftsmanship with vivid performances,” particularly that of the fearless José Coronado.” The result, in Gilmore’s words, is a “wonderfully conceived metaphorical examination of morals in our current day and age.”

Tribeca Film plans a December 2012 release for No Rest for the Wicked that will span multiple platforms, including on-demand availability in more than 40 million homes through a variety of offerings that include iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly, VUDU and Xbox.

Watch the trailer here: