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Gale Anne Hurd joins Frontières genre-financing forum; projects announced

Thursday, January 17, 2019 | Events, News

By MICHAEL GINGOLD

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.

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).