Shudder/IFC Films Ink Distribution Deal With Severin Films, Fantastic Latido Award Goes to Witchcraft Drama ‘Ancestral’ (EXCLUSIVE)
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Fantastic Pavilion, the genre business hub launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, announced a slew of deals closed at the venue this year, with L..A-based Severin Films, a boutique Blu-ray and DVD label, inking a pact to release eleven Special Edition physical discs of the most popular Originals and licensed features from horror subscription streamer Shudder and IFC Films.
Initial titles include Joko Anwar’s “Satan’s Slaves”; Brandon Cronenberg’s “Antiviral”; Can Evrenol’s “Baskin”; Franck Khalfoun’s 2012 remake of “Maniac”; Douglas Buck’s 2006 remake of “Sisters” and André Øvredal’s “The Autopsy of Jane Doe.”
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The deal was brokered by Severin Film’s co-founder-CEO David Gregory, Shudder’s Vice President of Programming Sam Zimmerman, and AMC Networks Director of Content Sales Lucas Verga.
“The work done at Severin Films is astounding,” said Zimmerman, adding: “They are directly responsible for some of the greatest home video releases ever and seeing a selection of our Shudder and IFC Films gems get the treatment is a delight.”
“We’ve been working with Shudder since their inception,” said Severin’s David Gregory, who listed the licensing of some 50 hit features that include “Threads,” “Cemetery Man,” “The Changeling” and Severin productions like “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched” and “Lost Soul – The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau.”
In other news, witchcraft drama “Ancestral,” was proclaimed winner of the Fantastic Latido Award this year, which involves international sales representation by leading Madrid-based Latido Films.
Directed by Spanish filmmakers Marta Cabrera and Pablo Aragüés, the supernatural drama “Ancestral” stars new Spanish ‘scream queen’ Almudena Amor (“Sister Death,” “The Grandmother”) alongside Spanish actresses Emma Suárez, Luisa Gavasa, Ana Fernández and Consuelo Trujillo.
The second feature co-helmed by Cabrera and Aragüés after fantasy thriller “Homeowners” (“Para entrar a vivir”), “Ancestral” revolves around Carla who returns to her hometown where she finds that only her mother and a group of women seem to be living there. But a foreboding presence looms over the valley, suggesting an ancestral curse.
“Ancestral” is produced by Cabrera for Redwood Films and Extended Reality Films, with the participation of Aragón TV and Costa Rica’s Atómica Films, led by Miguel and Dennis Gómez.
Among the highlights of the second edition of Fantastic Pavilion, which reported an uptick in visitors to 2,500 in eight days, was the presentation of the Keys to the Pavilion to genre maestro filmmaker David Cronenberg (“The Fly,” “A History of Violence”) and iconic composer Simon Boswell (“Lord of Illusions,” “Santa Sangre”) who were chosen for their indelible contributions to genre cinema.
Fantastic Pavilion participants included production companies, streamers, broadcasters, sales agents and distributors as well as key buyers led by ARTE, BTF Media, CMG, Inter Medya, Latido, Manticora, MPI, Playmaker, Severine, Shudder and Utopia among others.
Close to 40 film festivals were also present, including Méliès affiliated festivals Sitges, BIFF, Fantasia, Fantastic Fest and Morbido Fest. During the event, Sitges unveiled the official new poster for its next edition and organized a rendezvous with filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“28 Weeks Later”).
Aside from being a popular networking venue, Fantastic Pavilion presented a myriad of activities that included market screenings, galas and special screenings. It also turned its focus on videogames and their future within the industry as narrative devices.
It also featured a Cocktail Showcase where Morbidogate, the joint venture between Globalgate and Morbido Group, presented its first Genre IP remakes showcase. Among the available titles were indie Spanish hit “La mesita del comedor” (“The Coffee Table”), Japan’s “One Cut of The Dead”, U.S. title “Coherence,” Russia’s “The Bridge” and Brazil’s “Nightshifter.”
Talks to produce three movies in different territories out of these titles began there and are soon to be announced, said Pablo Guisa Koestinger, Fantastic Pavilion executive director and founder-CEO of the Morbido Group.
This edition also marked the inaugural Fantastic Night, the first time Cannes hosted a social event celebrating the genre film industry. Held at the Palais de Festivals et des Congrès, the Fantastic Night was hosted by Cannes’ Marche du Film in partnership with the Fantastic Pavilion, with the support of Melies Federation, Sitges Fantastic 7, Fantasia Frontiers and Morbido Fest.
“Genre is the beating heart of the industry, as it has kept it robust and healthy throughout some of the harshest years we have ever seen. The business hub for genre at the mecca of cinema, today is a reality. The Fantastic Pavilion’s success is not a question of subjective opinion, but rather a simple matter of fact, demonstrable in quantifiable numbers,” said Guisa Koestinger.
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