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.”

 

Breaking News: DEADLINE // Cleopatra Ent. Takes North America On Japanese Horror ‘The Beast Hand’ Ahead Of Sitges

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Breaking News: DEADLINE // Cleopatra Ent. Takes North America On Japanese Horror ‘The Beast Hand’ Ahead Of Sitges

Cleopatra Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Japanese director Taichiro Natsume’s body horror The Beast Hand ahead of its international premiere at the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival.

The film, which premiered in Japan in early 2024, has also been acquired by Barcelona-based Wild Duck Productions for Spain ahead of its Sitges screening in the Midnight X-Treme next week.

The low-budget picture stars Takahiro Fukuya as petty criminal Osamu who is possessed by a strangely deformed hand which is grafted onto his body by a mysterious doctor after he loses his left arm in a kidnapping job that does not go to plan.

Fukaya is joined in the cast by Yota Kawase as his partner in crime, who is killed in the botched kidnapping, as well as Misa Wada as a woman from Osamu’s past who has undergone extensive plastic surgery to disguise her identity and takes the wounded man to her underground surgeon to fix his arm.

It soon becomes clear that the hand has a monstrous will of its own as Osamu seeks revenge against the gang which killed his friend and severed his limb.

Tokyo-based filmmaker Natsume’s specializes in low-budget horror movies with previous credits including Convex Attack!! Psychic Research Team Kachikomi (2017) and Love Shark (2023)

“Cleopatra Entertainment is thrilled to acquire The Beast Hand, a unique film by the uber-talented Japanese Director Taichiro Natsume,” said the distributor.

“We feel the timing is right for western audiences to view and experience the vast array of quality genre films from Japanese film-makers like Natsume-san and so many other talents from Asia.”

Breaking News: SCREENDAILY // Paris-based Reel Suspects has boarded international sales for Polish-language coming of age feature Wet Monday ahead of the Cannes Market.

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Paris-based Reel Suspects has boarded international sales for Polish-language coming of age feature Wet Monday ahead of the Cannes Market.

The debut feature from Polish writer-director Justyna Mytnik portrays a15-year-old girl, who begins to suffer from an acute fear of water almost a year after being sexually assaulted on ’Wet Monday’ .

The day is a Polish Easter tradition in which young men throw water over young women.

Shot in Poland, Wet Monday is produced by Poland’s Lava Films, Estonia’s Alexandra Film and Czechia Republic’s Bionaut Films.

Mytnik studied at the prestigious National Film Television and Theatre School in Lodz and her short films have screened around the world.

Breaking News: DEADLINE // Suspects Boards Mongolian Zombie Picture ‘Z Zone’ – Cannes Market

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Reel Suspects Boards Mongolian Zombie Picture ‘Z Zone’ – Cannes Market

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has acquired world sales rights to Mongolian zombie picture Z Zone for a Cannes Market launch.

The debut feature of Bilguun Chuluundorj, the movie follows the fate of a group of young delinquents who are transferred to a mysterious, remote military base for their misdemeanours.

Rather than a strict disciplinary regime, they find themselves in a world of secrets and fighting for their lives against sinister forces that lurk in the shadows.

The cast features Mongolian stars Tsenguun Chingis, Puruvjargal Erdenebileg (Shadow Keeper, The Demon) and Bazarragchaa Byambajav (Shadow Keeper).

Chuluundorj is a member of the bubbling indie cinema scene in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.

He previously took co-writing credits on 2022 picture Nomads vs. Zombies by Otgonzorig Batchuluun, mixing comedy, horror and thriller genres.

Chuluundorj is currently attached as writer and director at the Ulaanbaatar entertainment group On ‘n Off Production, having previously collaborated with Hulegu Pictures. Upcoming directorial projects include Lover Boy and Berkh Shagai.

Z Zone lands amid a growing Mongolian genre wave and follows in the wake of Mongolian horror Aberrance, which played in the Midnighters of SXSW last year and then was acquired for U.S. theatrical release.