Anna Kendrick wasn’t the only actor/director at the Toronto International Film Festival, but her first film behind the camera got a lot of attention.

Kendrick helmed Woman of the Hour, a taut drama/comedy based on a true story about the so-called “Dating Game Killer,” Rodney Alcala, who appeared on the program in 1978, winning a date with contestant Cheryl Bradshaw.

In Kendrick’s film, she plays Bradshaw, a frustrated aspiring actress who is ready to turn her back on Los Angeles when sh discovers her agent has booked her on The Dating Game so she can “be seen.” Despite her initial reservations, she decides to do it. Unfortunately, the “winning” bachelor is Rodney Alcala, played by Daniel Zovatto, who was a serial killer in the middle of a crime spree in which he murdered an unknown number of women.

In the film, which doesn’t follow real life events exactly, Bradshaw and Alcala go on a date despite a “disquieting” back stage encounter between the two, and afterwards Bradshaw is stalked by the killer. In real life, Bradshaw found Alcala “too creepy” to date.

The film also delves into Alcala’s life, covering the years before and after his game show appearance to see how he was able to gain the trust of, and then subsequently murder his victims. Tony Hale and Nicolette Robinson also star.

The film is getting rave reviews for showing a darkness beneath The Dating Game‘s – and Hollywood’s – sunny ’70s vibe as Kendrick explores the everyday sexism at play as women who try to report their suspicions about Alcala are waved off, and the blatant objectification that was omnipresent in that era.

Kendrick joined fellow thespians-turned-directors at the festival, including Kristen Scott Thomas with her film North Star, Michael Keaton with Knox Goes Away, and Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt.

Deadline reports that the film will most likely be picked up by Netflix, with a possible pending deal of $11 million. No release date is set for the film at this time.