Afternoon Delight hits theaters in New York and Los Angeles today, and we’re thrilled to see Writer/Director Jill Soloway and Producer Sebastian Dungan riding a big, fat wave of success. As long-time fans of the film about an upper-middle class mom (Kathryn Hahn) who decides to spice up her life by bringing home a stripper (Juno Temple) to be her son’s nanny, Film Independent awarded it our Wildfire Post-Production Grant this past January. That same month the film wowed at its Sundance premiere, where Jill took home the dramatic directing award. Not long before, Variety had named Dungan and his 72 Productions partner Jen Chaiken to its 2012 Ten Producers To Watch list. Add to that some good ink in The New York Times, and you’ve got the recipe for an indie hit. Here are three reasons to believe the hype – and to catch the film this weekend.

Writer/Director Jill Soloway is the real deal.

This is her feature directorial debut, but Jill is an established TV show runner, producer and writer. She just may have written your favorite episodes of Six Feet Under; her work on the acclaimed series earned her three Emmy noms.

It’s one of those films that’s way more fun to see in a theater.

“I call my brand ‘funcomfortable,’ ” Jill told The Times — and it’s the perfect way to sum up why Afternoon Delight is best seen in a theater filled with laughter—and communal cringing. Dungan told us that after receiving a variety of distribution offers at Sundance, they went with The Film Arcade largely because of its special relationship with The Landmark Theaters and the partnership’s commitment to the film’s theatrical life.

“We took a gamble. We don’t see this film’s trajectory as short theatrical window followed closely by VOD. We see a robust move toward theatrical run,” he said. “It’s nice to feel the tension in the room. It should shock people. It should start conversations. It’s about marriage and sex in marriage—touchy conversation starter stuff —and that means being in a theater really benefits the film.”

It’s part of a summer movie trend we can get behind.

In a world where (male) stoner comedies, (male) super heroes and (male) buddy pictures rule the box office, it’s refreshing to see what The Times calls “a wave of films [including To Do List, Before Midnight, Concussion and A Teacher] that address sex frankly and unapologetically and from a female perspective.”