Organized by the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum unites genre filmmakers with backers, distributors et al. The 12 projects for this year’s third edition, including some from top producers in the horror field, have been revealed, along with a special guest.
Gale Anne Hurd (pictured below), the producer whose stellar career spans from THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS to THE WALKING DEAD, will host an “In Conversation” master class to open the event, which takes place in Helsinki February 14-16. The Forum is also introducing a pair of awards to the burgeoning features: one will receive the Warner Music Supervision Award, including access to a Warner artist to write and record an original track, and one will nab the PostControl VFX Frontières Award, providing VFX and grading services. Vying for those prizes, and seeking assistance at the Forum with everything from financing to casting, are the following films:
- ARCTIC CHILLS (Canada/Greenland/Norway/Finland/Sweden/Russia) Directors/Writers: Jerri Thrasher, Ashley Savard, Vivi Nilsen, Elin Marakat, Sinituuli Kalttopää, Sara M. Oskal, Sardana Savvina
Producers: International Sámi Film Institute, Liisa Holmberg, Jason Ryle - BIRDS OF A FEATHER (PAHANHAUTOJA; production art above; Finland/Sweden/Norway/Latvia)
Director: Hanna Bergholm
Writer: Ilja Rautsi
Producers: Mika Ritalahti (Silva Mysterium Oy), Nima Yousefi (Hob Ab), Egil Ødegår (Evil Doghouse Productions AS) - BLACK BATS (U.S.)
Director/Writer: Rick Spears
Producers: Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath (Divide/Conquer), Jason Blum (Blumhouse Productions) - BREEDER (Denmark)
Director: Jens Dahl
Writer: Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen
Producers: Amalie Lyngbo Quist and Maria Møller Christoffersen (Beo Starling) - CUBICLE (Canada/U.S.)
Director: Danny DelPurgatorio
Writer: Michael Gilvary
Producers: Robert Menzies (Zed.Film), Colin Geddes and Katarina Gligorijevic (Ultra8 Pictures), Jacqueline Ingram - DON’T COME AFTER ME (Ireland/Finland/Sweden)
Director: AJ Annila
Writers: David Turpin, Antti Karumo
Producers: Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde (Tailored Films), Gudrun Giddings (G4C Innovation) - LAYERS OF LIES (Finland/Iran)
Director: Ramin Sohrab
Writers: Ramin Sohrab, Amirhossein Makouei, Sami Laulajainen Producers: Ramin Sohrab, Mohsen Sarafi - MEMORY OF WATER (VEDEN VARTIJA; Finland/Germany/Norway)
Director: Saara Saarela
Writer: Ilja Rautsi, based on Finnish novel by Emmi Itaranta
Producers: Mark Lwoff & Misha Jaari (BUFO), Reinhard Brundig and Nina Frese (Pandora Film), Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film) - MERSEA (Canada)
Director/Writer: Lindsay MacKay
Producers: Paula Devonshire (Devonshire Productions) and Paul Scherzer (Six Island Productions) - MONSTER (United Kingdom)
Director/Writer: Laura Smith
Producer: Jenny Walker (FoR FILMS Ltd)
- RESURRECTED (Cyprus/Russia)
Director: Egor Baranov
Writers: Joe Rechtman, story by Egor Baranov
Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, Maria Zatulovskaya, Egor Baranov (Bazelevs Entertainment) - SLASH/BACK (Canada)
Director: Nyla Innuksuk
Writers: Nyla Innuksuk and Ryan Cavan
Producers: Daniel Bekerman and Ethan Lazar (Scythia Films), Alex Ordanis and Christopher Yurkovich (Stellar Citizens), Nyla Innuksuk (Mixtape VR)
Calls for submissions for the Frontières Buyers Showcase in Cannes and the International Co-Production Market at Fantasia in Montreal are now open; go here for more info.
