Published by American Film Market Dailies

Oct 23, 2018

Every Fall, the Global Film Industry Converges in Santa Monica: Filmmakers, producers, directors and writers from around the world come to AFM to gain exposure, discover new projects and make deals....

Reel Suspect from a distance

We are not attending AFM, but if you are reading this text, you would probably be interested in our end of the year titles and in our Festival Favorites of 2018. Our newest acquisitions will drive you crazy.

USA / 2018 / DRAMA / 91 MIN

A beautiful actress struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur's English-language debut.

DIRECTED BY : Aaron Schimberg

CAST : Jess Weixler, Adam Pearson, Charlie Korsmo & Stephen Plunkett

PRODUCED BY : Vanessa McDonnell

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS : Fantasia FF, Fantastic Fest, BFI London IFF, BAM Cinemafest

PRESS: “Bizarre and beautiful - leaves us on thrillingly shifty ground. Schimberg confidently blurs the line between fantasy and reality, treating his characters with equivalent, complicated affection, a warmth very much the filmmaker’s own.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Extraordinary. Schimberg creates a melodrama that reflects on the terms of melodrama while also pointing toward a grass-roots cinematic revolution – movies made by people about their own experiences.” – The New Yorker

AUSTRIA / 2018 / DRAMA / 100 MIN

CALEB LANDRY JONES' DAKEST PERFORMANCE. BREATHTAKING!

Norman, the sole survivor of a tragic fire accident when he was just a child, has been struggling with a lingering feeling of guilt all his life. Together with his girlfriend Penelope and their baby son, Norman tries to forge a new life. Norman's memory is reignited one night and he sets off on an unparalleled quest, following a trail of flames whose powers shall now heal him.

DIRECTED BY : Peter Brunner

CAST : Caleb Landry Jones, Eléonore Hendricks, Abbey Lee, Jana McKinnon, Christos Haas

PRODUCED BY : Freibeuter Film, Loveless, Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion

WORLD PREMIERE : Karlovy Vary IFF - Official Competition

PRESS : "To The Night might unfold as an impenetrable narrative, but that is precisely its strength; as we peer into Norman’s psyche, we are drawn into the entirety of the film just as he is drawn back to his childhood home." CINEUROPA

SOUTH AFRICA / 2018 / THRILLER / 110 MIN

BEWARE OF YOUR NEIGHBOURS... A THRILLER MASTERPIECE

Entrapped in his apartment, Randal Hendricks, a recent paraplegic, is given a gift of binoculars by his devoted girlfriend, Pam. But he is in financial debt to Emmie, a sadistic loan shark, and when he witnesses a powerful gangster, named Lawyer, commit murder while observing his neighbours through his binoculars, he initiates a dangerous blackmail scheme in an attempt to settle his debt. With deception and greed around every corner, what follows is a thrilling ride that puts both he and Pam’s lives in mortal danger… as the world around Randal deteriorates further and further into chaos.

DIRECTED BY : Nosipho Dumisa

CAST : Irshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, Ephraim Gordon, Sandi Schultz, Danny Ross, David Manuel, Elton Landrew, Deon Lotz

PRODUCED BY : Gambit Films

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS: SXSW, Sydney FF, Neuchâtel IFF, Fantasia FF, Warsaw IFF, Lund IFFF

AWARDS : Best Director @ Fantasia FF

PRESS : "Far more substantial than a run-of-the-mill Hitchcock homage, “Number 37” is richly satisfying on its own terms as a singularly crafty and strikingly well-crafted thriller that signals the arrival of a promising filmmaking talent." VARIETY

"This Cape Town-set thriller from South African filmmaker Nosipho Dumisa wears its influences proudly and pleasurably. If you’re going to steal, steal from the best. That certainly applies to South African writer-director Nosipho Dumisa, who takes the premise of one of her favorite films,Rear Window, and gives it a grittier, much more sanguine spin." THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

USA / 2018 / THRILLER - HORROR / 90 MIN

After a night of debauchery spirals out of control, Marcus retreats to his family home along the New England coast. Solitude is disturbed when his brother asks Marcus to look after his estranged nephew and niece. As days pass, solace escapes him; he feels baited by a dark force. Is he losing his mind or has something terrible burrowed deep within him? Incubating. Waiting until the climate is right. Haunted by his deepest fears, Marcus struggles not to succumb as he fights to protect Lily, his beloved niece from a monster that lies in wait.real drama about unconditional love ruined by manipulation and lies.

DIRECTED BY : Owen Long

CAST :Trevor Long, Andrea Chen, Garr Long, Kevin Breznahan, Chris McGarry

PRODUCED BY : Barnofo Productions

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS: Cinequest, Frightfest

PRESS : "The kind of horror that uses humanities foibles and fragilities, to reflect on just how horrific humans – and the human condition – can be, Seeds is a powerful, oftentimes uncomfortable watch. Not so much a journey into madness but rather a journey from madness into insanity." NERDLY.CO.UK

CHILE / 2017 / HORROR - GORE / 106 MIN

THE MOST VIOLENT AND CONTROVERSIAL FILM OF THE YEAR

Chile, 1973. After the military strike puts a dramatic end to president Allende‘s government, general Augusto Pinochet rules the country with blood and fire. Gruesome and unpunished murders took place in the shadows of the Chilean dictatorship. In the present day, what could have been a pleasant weekend in the countryside for a group of young women, turns into a nightmarish run to escape the horror that survived. As more locals are involved, and the lustful bloodbath gets unleashed, one by one the unlucky visitors must confront the unspeakable evil that lies inside ordinary men.

DIRECTED BY : Lucio A. Rojas

CAST : Catalina Martin, Daniel Antivilo, Macarena Carrere, Ximena del Solar, Felipe Ríos, Dominga Bofill, Eduardo Paxeco, Claudio Riveros, Max Torres y Alejandro Trejo.

PRODUCED BY : Trauma SPA

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS: Morbido FF, BA Rojo Sangre FF, BIFFF, FANT Bilbao, Grossmann FFF

AWARDS : Winner Special Mention @ Morbido FF

PRESS : "The latest, and likely bloodiest, harshest and most extreme blast of violent horror cinema from Latin America comes in the form of Lucio A. Rojas' Trauma." SCREEN ANARCHY

"Trauma digs in the dark past of the southernmost Latin country with the story of four young women which are attacked by a disturbed man and his son on a weekend trip. FANGORIA

POLAND-BELGIUM / 2018 / DRAMA/ 101 MIN

A tale of two knights, the experienced Willibrord and the young, mysterious, Unnamed, who set off to christen a small pagan village hidden deep in the mountains. Despite the differences in their views and perspectives on religion, the two men become travel companions and create a father-son relationship. At the village, the pagans put the new comers’ beliefs to a test. Soon, love is confronted with hate, dialogue with violence, madness with rules and many will have to die.

DIRECTED BY : Bartosz Konopka

CAST : Krzysztof Pieczyński, Karol Bernacki, Jan Bijvoet, Jeroen Perceval, Olivier de Sagazan

PRODUCED BY : Otter Films, Odra Film, Earlybirds Films

PRESS : "The Mute is the sophomore film by Konopka, whose short documentary Rabbit à la Berlin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010". CINEUROPA