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Frontières takes international fright projects to Cannes; complete lineup

Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | News

By MICHAEL GINGOLD

The Frontières co-production initiative, which has launched movies like RAW, TURBO KID, THE RANGER and VIVARIUM, is going to Cannes for its fourth year, presenting a diverse lineup of 13 projects in various stages of production/completion.

Fifteen countries are represented by this year’s Cannes selection, a co-presentation between Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival and the Marché du Film–Festival de Cannes. Six features that are finished or in postproduction will have footage screened for buyers, sales agents and festival programmers in the Buyers Showcase, while the Proof of Concept Presentation gives filmmakers in the advanced financing stages the opportunity to present completed teaser trailers directly to prospective partners.

“We are extremely proud and elated to be presenting these thirteen projects at the Frontières Platform in Cannes, says Frontières’ new executive director Annick Mahnert. “Despite the disruptions, the Marché du Film fought to exist in a digital way and I am sincerely grateful we can be part of it, as Frontières has become a must-attend event for the genre industry during the market. The filmmakers have all put a lot of work into their projects and it is capital that they should now be able to share their work with their peers. This year’s selection is very diverse in style and origins, coming as far as Argentina, Israel and Russia, and I’m looking forward to the industry discovering these gems.”

The projects, which will be presented on June 25, are:

BUYERS SHOWCASE

BLOODTHIRSTY (Canada)
Director: Amelia Moses
Producer: Michael Peterson (775 Media Corp), Wendy Hill-Tout (Voice Pictures)

BREEDER (Denmark)
Director: Jens Dahl
Producers: Amalie Lyngbo Quist, Maria Møller Christoffersen (Beo Starling)
Sales Agent: Level K

IO SONO VERA (VERA DE VERDAD) (Italy/Chile)
Director: Beniamino Catena
Producers: Simone Gandolfo (Macaia Film), Karina Jury (Atomica)

KRATT (Estonia)
Director: Rasmus Merivoo
Producers: Tõnu Hiielaid, Rain Rannu (Tallifornia)

THE PAPER TIGERS (USA)
Director: Tran Quoc Bao
Producers: Michael Velasquez, Al’n Duong, Yuji Okumoto, Dan Gildark (Beimo Films)
Sales Agents: XYZ Films & AMP International

THE RETREAT (Canada)
Director: Pat Mills
Producers: Alyson Richards (Outside Line Studio), Lauren Grant (Clique Pictures)

PROOF OF CONCEPT PRESENTATION

THE CHANGE (United Kingdom)
Director: Jennifer Handorf
Producers: Jen Handorf (Dark Matter Films), Alex Bentley (AB Plus Films)
Sales Agent: MPI

COMING SOON (Canada)
Director: Ante Kovac
Producers: Lauren Grant (Clique Pictures), Daniel Bekerman (Scythia Films), Rory Halsall (Santa Carla Films), Dave Huakoc, Daniel Quinn (levelFILM)
Sales Agent: Altitude Film Sales

DOGMAN (Argentina/Peru)
Director: Tamae Garateguy
Producers: Silvia Rodriguez (Tedigoque Producciones), Melissa Cordero (Lunática Films)

FINGERNAIL (Israel)
Director: Boaz Armoni
Producer: Yoav Roeh (Gum Films)

IN HER HEAD (Russia/Lebanon/Georgia/France/Lithuania)
Director: Maria Ivanova
Producers: Maria Ivanova, Olga Erofeeva (Scoop Production)

THE OCCUPANT (Netherlands)
Director: Hugo Keijzer
Producers: Maurice Schutte (HAA! Films), Raymond van der Kaaij (Revolver Amsterdam)

RULES FOR WEREWOLVES (Canada/USA)
Director: Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux
Producers: Peter Harvey (Peter Harvey Productions Inc.), Kelly Williams, Jonathan Duffy (Ten Acre Films)

Michael Gingold
Michael Gingold (RUE MORGUE's Head Writer) has been covering the world of horror cinema for over three decades, and in addition to his work for RUE MORGUE, he has been a longtime writer and editor for FANGORIA magazine and its website. He has also written for BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH, SCREAM, IndieWire.com, TIME OUT, DELIRIUM, MOVIEMAKER and others. He is the author of the AD NAUSEAM books (1984 Publishing) and THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO MONSTER MOVIES (FAB Press), and he has contributed documentaries, featurettes and liner notes to numerous Blu-rays, including the award-winning feature-length doc TWISTED TALE: THE UNMAKING OF "SPOOKIES" (Vinegar Syndrome).