Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American, Latin American and Asian distribution rights to Testament of Youth. The studio has not announced a release date at this time for director James Kent's adaptation of Vera Brittain's autobiography, although the film was released today in the U.K. Here's what the director had to say about the acquisition in a brief statement.

"I am thrilled to see Sony Pictures Classics partner on our journey in bringing Testament of Youth to the screen. I am so proud of this heartfelt, beautifully performed film of youthful hope and searing love that speaks across the ages."

Producer David Heyman also added his own statement about working with Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard.

"I have known Michael and Tom for many, many years and have admired their vision, integrity and passionate support of great films and original voices for even longer. We could not be in better hands."

The plot centers on the intelligent and free-spirited Vera (Alicia Vikander) overcomes the narrow-mindedness of her conservative parents, winning a scholarship to Oxford. Entranced by her brother's dashing friend Roland (Kit Harington), who shares her literary aspirations, she plunges into an intoxicating romance. Blooming, in love and on the cusp of fulfilling her ambitions, Vera's dreams are brutally shattered by the onset of war. When Roland and her brother ship out to the front, she abandons the cloistered environs of university life and volunteers as a nurse. Immediately confronted with the pitiless reality of the war's victims, her life is irrevocably changed as she loses, one-by-one, the young men she held so dear.

Hayley Atwell, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson, Colin Morgan and Taron Egerton round out the supporting cast. Stay tuned to find out when Testament of Youth will hit theaters. The announcement comes on the heels of Sony Pictures Classics' 18 Oscar nominations announced yesterday for films such as Foxcatcher and Whiplash.