Breaking News: DEADLINE // EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects Boards Rotterdam-Bound Hong Kong Esports Drama ‘Gamer Girls’

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Reel Suspects Boards Rotterdam-Bound Hong Kong Esports Drama ‘Gamer Girls’

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has boarded esports drama Gamer Girls by Hong Kong filmmakers Veronica Bassetto and Sophie Yang ahead of its international premiere in Rotterdam next week.

The picture follows the adventures of the members of disbanded all-girls esports team Dollhouse, who reunite to stage a comeback under the new moniker of Gamer Girls.

This mission hits a wall when the local gaming authority suspends all Hong Kong player accounts just weeks before a key tournament selection stage. The teammates battle to bring back the accounts forming unexpected alliances along the way.

Set in a games world created by Bassetto, the first time directors say the story taps into the inner struggles of young people in Hong Kong and the role video games play in allowing them to experience a sense of empowerment in the virtual world.

The picture is produced by Hong Kong producer Jacqueline Liu, whose recent credits include Valley of the Shadow of Death and The Way We Talk, which played at the BFI London Film and went on to win its co-star Suet-Ying Chung best actress at the 2024 Golden Horse awards.

It gathers a buzzy ensemble cast of Hong Kong actresses and influencers including Angela Yuen Summer, Alma Kwok Lilith, Sabrina Cheung Raven, Ng Wing Sze Kaki, Jeannie Ng Miko and CY Chan Login

“Gamer Girls is an entertaining and empowering e-sports debut feature with very accomplished cinematic aesthetics. Due to the ever-growing interest to e-sports, we feel that audience will be captured by this topic that still stays quite unexplored in the cinema world,” said Reel Suspects CEO Matteo Lovadina.

The company will launch sales on the title at the European Film Market next month, with other titles in its slate including  Brazilian vampire romance Love Kills by Luiza Schelling Tubaldini and Portuguese debut body horror Bodyhackers by Carlos Conceição.

Breaking News: SCREENDAILY// EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects moves in on Dominican romantic drama ‘Interior Apartment Day’ ahead of Rotterdam premiere

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Reel Suspects moves in on Dominican romantic drama ‘Interior Apartment Day’ ahead of Rotterdam premiere

By 26 January 2026

EXCLUSIVE: France’s Reel Suspects has boarded Dominican directing duo Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas’ Interior Apartment Day (Interior Apartamento Día) ahead of the film’s screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

Maia Otero and Juliano Kunert star in the Spanish and English-language film that is set to play in the festival’s Harbour section for contemporary cinema.

Interior Apartment Day is about a couple of creative freelancers in Santo Domingo, excited about the changes a promising job opportunity will bring. But unexpected conflicts arise that test their relationship as they try to balance their work commitments with their love for each other.

It is produced by Dominican production outfits Lantica Studios, Purpleline Productions, and Aurora Dominicana.

Interior Apartment Day world premiered at the 2025 Sao Paolo International Film Festival in October.

A real-life couple, Dominican Republic-born Guzmán and Mexico-born Cárdenas are IFFR regulars who were last at the festival in 2023 as producers of Guzman’s first solo effort La Hembrita in competition and of Pablo Chea’s Chroma Kid in the Bright Future section. They were also at the festival with their joint directorial effort Sand Dollars in 2015.

Reel Suspects will talk to buyers about the film at next month’s European Film Market (EFM). Its EFM lineup also includes Luiza Schelling Tubaldini’s Brazilian vampire romance Love Kills, Portuguese body horror Bodyhackers, Polish vampire debut feature Life For Beginners, Christian Neuman’s sci-fi horror Stargazer and Alex Phillips’ comic erotic thriller Anything That Moves.

Breaking News: CINEUROPA // EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects mise sur Life For Beginners

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EXCLUSIF : Reel Suspects mise sur Life For Beginners

par Fabien Lemercier

– Le vendeur international français lance les ventes du premier long métrage du Polonais Paweł Podolski, un film de vampire produit par Autograf Karol Wożbiński

A shy vampire has one night to persuade a suicidal vampire whom she created — and accidentally condemned to eternal life — to accept immortality. She’s helped by a young mortal with an enduring love for life. That’s the crux of Life For Beginners, the feature debut by Poland’s Paweł Podolski (who made a splash in 2020 with the short Do Monsters Eat Kiwi?, which triumphed in Austin and Portland). The movie was unveiled in the Gdynia Film Festival last October (just ahead of its domestic theatrical release via Aurora Films), and French company Reel Suspects – headed up by Matteo Lovadina – has just snapped up international sales rights for the work.

Penned by the director together with Lynn Kucharczyk, the screenplay centres on an introverted but highly functional 26-year-old vampire called Monia. Her job in a care home allows her to feed on blood samples and limits her interactions to chats with elderly people with dementia. It’s a comfortable life for her – a little lonely, but very stable. Monia could probably have kept this up for years, were it not for a 23-year-old Czarek – who doesn’t have much time left to live – coming into her life. He’s is the only one to notice Monia, who doesn’t feel like herself around him and would probably blush at the sight of him if she could. He’s also the first to discover the young woman’s secret. Meanwhile, some strange events begin to unfold. Bite marks are found on the bodies of deceased patients… Another vampire is prowling the home: 35-year-old Mirek, a suicidal man turned vampire by Monia. Mirek hated his life when it was finite and he hates it even more now that it’s eternal. He asks Monia to kill him. But killing a vampire isn’t that easy. Stakes and crosses are useless, and only the one who created a vampire can kill them. Mirek gives Monia an ultimatum: either she kills him, or he will kill all the residents in the care home…

The cast includes Magdalena Maścianica, Michał Sikorski, Bartłomiej Kotschedoff, Małgorzata Rożniatowska and Wojciech Machnicki. The film’s cinematography is by Ernest Wilczyński while the music was composed by Hubert Walkowski.

Life For Beginners was produced by Anna Wereda and Alicja Gancarz for Autograf Karol Wożbiński as part of the Polish Film Institute’s micro-budget programme. The latter is also supporting the filmmaker’s next feature, a dramedy currently in development entitled A Bit of Meaning.

Breaking News: DEADLINE // EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects Boards Argentinian Horror ‘The Devil Whispered My Name’ With Scream Queen Clara Kovacic Ahead Of L.A. Screamfest Debut

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Reel Suspects Boards Argentinian Horror ‘The Devil Whispered My Name’ With Scream Queen Clara Kovacic Ahead Of L.A. Screamfest Debut

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has boarded sales on Emilia Cotella and John Mathis Argentinian horror The Devil Whispered My Name ahead of its U.S. premiere at Screamfest in L.A.

The work stars Argentinian scream queen Clara Kovacic (The Last Zombie, The Caregiver) as a young woman who witnessed the death of her best friend María during an Ayahuasca ceremony, in a tragic mishap that left deep scars on everyone present.

Ten years later, the suicide of one of the group’s friends forces Carla to halt her successful career in Buenos Aires and return to her hometown. As she reconnects with her estranged friends and delves into the town’s hidden secrets, she discovers ancient evil forces are rising up to end the lives of all those present at the fatal Ayahuasca ceremony.

The Devil Whispered My Name is the feature directorial debut of Argentinian director Cotella, who studied screenwriting at the London Film School, and Mathis.

London-based U.S. director and writer Mathis graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied filmmaking. He also holds an MFA in screenwriting from the London Film School, where he met Cotella.

The Devil Whispered My Name is his fourth released feature after When We Were Young, Midnight Runner, Where’s Rose, which clocked up more than one million views on Amazon Prime.

The production filmed in the Argentinian city of Córdoba and is imbued with local folklore as well as Cotella’s childhood memories. It is produced by Pablo Bobadilla, Mathis, Olga Lesnova and Cotella.

The Devil Whispered My Name world premiered at Argentina’s Terror Córdoba International Festival of Horror and Fantasy Films in August winning Best National Feature Film.

Breaking News: DEADLINE // EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects Boards Erotic Thriller & Fantasia Buzz Title ‘Anything That Moves’

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Reel Suspects Boards Erotic Thriller & Fantasia Buzz Title ‘Anything That Moves’

EXCLUSIVE: Reel Suspects has acquired sales rights to Alex Phillips’ erotic thriller Anything That Moves, which premiered last week to rave reviews from the genre fans at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

The Paris-based genre sales specialist previously worked on Chicago filmmaker Phillips’ well-received first feature, the body horror All Jacked Up and Full of Worms.

Hal Baum and Jiana Nicole co-star in the new movie as dating sex workers Liam and Thea who deliver food and additional favors to clients across the city, while a serial killer stacks up gory murders in the backdrop.

When their clients start falling victim to the killer, their lives and relationship are pushed to the limit.

Phillips has revealed he made the movie partly in response to what he sees as growing polarization and conservatism within U.S. society.

“With the divisions among us ratcheted up to an absurd level of insanity, we are all set up to be afraid of each other. I wanted to bring to life an unafraid, emotionally open, naive protagonist able to bridge the gaps between all sorts of people across a wild city through physical intimacy,” he explained in a director’s note.

“At this moment, that idea of open intimacy is also a political one – it naturally attacks the cultural conservatism consuming the United States.”

Baum and Nicole are joined in the cast by former adult stars Ginger Lynn (The Devil’s Rejects) and Nina Hartley (Boogie Nights).

“We’re really happy about this film, that should also reach cult status very quickly and attract both festivals and buyers. It’s totally mind blowing, sexy, violent and shot in 16mm film,” said Reel Suspects CEO Matteo Lovadina.

Phillips’ 2022 debut feature All Jacked Up and Full of Worms also premiered at Fantasia, where it won the New Flesh Jury Award. It went on to play 21 festivals including Austin’s Fantastic Fest where it was acquired by Cineverse and released as a Screambox Original in the U.S.

It is a Special Movies, Vinegar Syndrome and Missing Link production. Producers are Georgia Bernstein, Liane Cunje and Spencer Parsons, with executive producers Joe Rubin, Ryan Emerson, Ralph Stevens, Ian Stone, Eddie Linker, Stephen Lanus and Amar Gupta.

Breaking News: DEADLINE // EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects To Launch Korean Music-Themed Psychological Thriller ‘Forte’ At EFM

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Reel Suspects To Launch Korean Music-Themed Psychological Thriller ‘Forte’ At EFM

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has boarded Korean producer and director Kimbo Kim’s classical music-themed psychological thriller Forte for an EFM launch.

The movie revolves around young composer Yeonji (Chaeyoung Leem) who lands a dream job at the prestigious Forte Studio.

Her joy over the position soon fades when she starts working at its isolated HQ due to the eerie atmosphere and odd behavior of her new colleagues.

Fiercely ambitious and competitive, she also discovers that her new boss only wants to use her as a ghostwriter rather than letting her shine in her own light.

A battle of wills develops that escalates into a matter of life and death.

South Korea-born Kim studied filmmaking in Seoul and Prague, before founding the production company 37th Degree in Seoul in 2014, which he expanded to U.S in 2015.

Forte marks his directorial debut after producing around a dozen shorts and Giovanni Fumu’s 2024 thriller Abroad about a young Korean man looking for his girlfriend who goes missing on a trip to Minnesota.

“We are extremely proud to work on Kimbo’s first feature film Forte. His camera uses all the codes of genre cinema to touch themes that reflect today’s contemporary society. The importance and omnipresence of classical music in Forte will not leave the audience indifferent,” said Reel Suspects CEO Matteo Lovadina.

Further titles on the company’s EFM slate include Guérin van de Vorst and Sophie Muselle’s Belgian drama On the Edge and Moonika Siimets’ Estonian sci-fi comedy The Black Hole.

Breaking News: SCREENDAILY // EXCLUSIVE : Reel Suspects boards Chinese queer drama ‘1 Girl Infinite’ ahead of IFFR Bright Future premiere

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Reel Suspects boards Chinese queer drama ‘1 Girl Infinite’ ahead of IFFR Bright Future premiere (exclusive)

Paris-based Reel Suspects has acquired international sales rights to Lilly Hu’s teenage love triangle drama 1 Girl Infinite about two young women in southern China whose relationship is shaken up when one falls in with a drug dealer.

The film set in Changsha, China will world premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Bright Future section on January 31, and Reel Suspects will launch sales at EFM in February.

Hu’s debut feature is produced by Latvia-based Trickster Pictures with Singapore’s Vanilla Films and US-based OGI Film. It is executive produced by Eric Roth, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Forrest Gump, whose recent credits include Here, Killers Of The Flower Moon and Dune: Part One.

Hu penned the script and also produces.

“The story’s raw authenticity and emotional depth create a poignant connection, reminding us of the fragile yet transformative nature of adolescence,” said Matteo Lovadina, founder and CEO of Reel Suspects.

Reel Suspects also heads to EFM with Guérin van de Vorst and Sophie Muselle’s Belgian psychiatric ward-set drama On the Edge and Moonika Siimets’ Estonian sci-fi comedy The Black Hole.

Breaking News: CINEUROPA // EXCLUSIVE: Reel Suspects boards On the Edge

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EXCLUSIVE: Reel Suspects boards On the Edge

 

French outfit Reel Suspects, headed up by Matteo Lovadina, has just acquired the international sales rights for On the Edge by Belgium’s Guérin van de Vorst and Sophie Muselle. The sales will kick off at the 39th Mar del Plata Festival (21 November-1 December), an Argentinian event that constitutes Latin America’s only A-list festival, where the film will be world-premiered in competition.

The film follows in the footsteps of a self-willed and idealistic young woman called Alexia, a trainee nurse who arrives at a closed ward of a psychiatric hospital, where she meets head-nurse Joëlle who teaches her all she needs to know about the profession. Alexia finds herself moved by angry Beline, a 20-year-old patient who doesn’t think she should be there. Despite Joëlle’s warnings to keep a distance from patients, Alexia grows close to Beline and fully invests herself in getting her out.

The filmmakers’ aim with this project is to question the conditions in which psychiatric patients are admitted, cared for and treated. Desperately overworked care teams often struggle to provide adequate support, prioritising the most urgent cases and finding themselves wrestling with ethical and emotional dilemmas. Psychologist, playwright and director Sophie Muselle has been exploring “madness” for many years now, orchestrating stage shows and writing workshops in league with mental health service-users. When Guérin Van de Vorst (to whom we owe The Faithful Son [+], released in 2017) came across her work, he sought to devise a fiction film with Muselle which would tackle these topics.

The lead role is entrusted to young Belgian actress Mara Taquin, whose phone hasn’t stopped ringing since her discovery in Belgium via the hit series Public Enemy and in France via The Specials, having appeared in The Hive, Zero Fucks Given and The Sitting Duck , and soon in La Petite and Matins.

La Vocation will be produced by Benoît Roland on behalf of Wrong Men, who also supported Guérin Van de Vorst with his first feature film. The movie’s Belgian partners already include Proximus, VOO & Be TV, RTBF, and Casa Kafka Pictures, with the film also enjoying backing from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Film and Audiovisual Centre.

Wrong Men are currently firing on all cylinders, notably on account of their double selection in Cannes, via Baloji’s debut feature film Omen in the Un Certain Regard section (where the work nabbed the New Voice Award) and Claude Schmitz’s The Other Laurens  in the Directors’ Fortnight. Wrong Men have also just produced Valéry Rosier’s latest film (see above), as well as developing first feature films by Alexe Poukine and Jean-Benoît Ugeux, to name just two, staying true to their auteur-centric policy.

Breaking News: DEADLINE // Reel Suspects Boards Absurdist Estonian Sci-Fi Comedy ‘The Black Hole’

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Reel Suspects Boards Absurdist Estonian Sci-Fi Comedy ‘The Black Hole’

 

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has acquired international sales rights for Estonian director Moonika Siimets’ absurdist comedy The Black Hole, which has been enjoying a buzzy run at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

The film revolves around the residents of a drab apartment block whose lives are upended when a black hole appears mysteriously in a lilac bush, and they find themselves confronted with aliens who change their lives forever.

Sirje and Maret, who dreaming of finding work abroad, end up in an extraterrestrial science experiment; Jüri, who is still living with his mother, falls in love with his lustful neighbor; Gertrud Mariliis, who dreams of a world without abusive men, finds shelter at fearless bodybuilder Uma’s apartment full of giant spiders.

Breaking News: SCREENDAILY // Rotterdam premiere ‘Tenement’ sells to North America (exclusive)

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Rotterdam premiere ‘Tenement’ sells to North America (exclusive)

Dark Sky Films has picked up North American distribution rights to psychological horror thriller Tenement, which premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Big Screen competition and is playing at Sitges Film Festival in the Panorama section this week.

The debut feature from Cambodian writer-directors Inrasothythep Neth and Sokyou Chea is about a Japanese-Cambodian manga artist who reconnects with her distant family as past horrors haunt her in an old tenement building. It is produced by Westec Media and Kongchak Pictures.

Matteo Lovadina’s Paris-based Reel Suspects has also sold the genre-bending film to Alfa Pictures in Spain, VOD Factory in France, Kinologistika in Russia and CIS, Joinstar in Taiwan, Crystalsky Entertainment in the Philippines, and EST N8 Studios for Vietnam and Myanmar.

Greg Newman, executive VP of Dark Sky Films, calls the film “a chilling supernatural horror from the underrepresented world of Cambodian cinema.”

He adds: “Tenement expertly weaves contemporary horror with glimpses of the country’s turbulent political past.”

 

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