News

“Santosh,” the acclaimed Indian crime drama that is the U.K.’s submission for international film Oscar, finally has U.K. distributor on board, with Vertigo Releasing partnering with Civic Studio for a theatrical release on March 21, 2025.

The Hindi-language film, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard competition in Cannes earlier this year, is the directorial feature debut of of British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, and stars Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar.

Set in rural northern India, the film follows newly-widowed Santosh, who inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable. When an underage girl from one of India’s so-called “lower castes” is murdered, she is pulled into the investigation by a charismatic feminist inspector.

Following its Cannes bow, “Santosh” was part of the official selection in Telluride and Toronto, and was selected in the debut competition at the London Film Festival and Tokyo FilmEx, winning best first...

Sunrise Films has set a U.S. release date for “Bonus Track,” the feature directorial debut from director Julia Jackman, written by Mike Gilbert, with a story by Josh O’Connor.

The coming-of-age queer rom-com stars Joe Anders (“1917”) and Samuel Small (“So Awkward”), supported by an ensemble cast including Ray Panthaki (“Boiling Point”), Susan Wokoma (“Enola Holmes”), Jack Davenport (“Ten Percent”), Alison Sudol (the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise) and O’Connor (“Challengers”) in a cameo role.

Set in 2006 England, the story follows 16-year-old aspiring musician George (Anders), who befriends Max (Small), the son of a famous musical duo, as they prepare for a year-end talent show. Their friendship evolves in unexpected ways.

“Bonus Track” made its debut at the BFI London Film Festival and was released in the U.K. as a Sky Original film. The film is an Erebus Pictures and Sky production, in association with Lunapark Pictures and Fortune Films[/link]Fortune Films.

Sunrise Films has secured the U.S. rights for “Bonus Track” from Bankside Films, with plans for a theatrical and digital release in October.

The feature directorial debut from Julia Jackman, “Bonus Track” is a coming-of-age queer rom-com written by Mike Gilbert, with a story by Josh O’Connor. The film stars Joe Anders (“1917”) and Samuel Small (“So Awkward”), supported by an ensemble cast including Ray Panthaki, Susan Wokoma, Jack Davenport, Alison Sudol and O’Connor in a cameo role.

Set in 2006 England, the story follows 16-year-old aspiring musician George (Anders), who befriends Max (Small), the son of a famous musical duo, as they prepare for a year-end talent show. Their friendship evolves in unexpected ways.

“Bonus Track” made its debut at the BFI London Film Festival and was released in the U.K. as a Sky Original film. The film is an Erebus Pictures and Sky production, in association with Lunapark Pictures and Fortune Films.

Sunrise Films has acquired Luna Carmoon’s “Hoard” for the U.S. and Canada.

The film debuted at Venice in 2023, where it won three prizes. It went on to an extended festival run including at the BFI London Film Festival, Athens, Mumbai and Goteborg.

Sunrise Films is a new production and internationally focused distribution company that has been launched by Vertigo Releasing CEO Rupert Preston and chair Nigel Williams.

The “Hoard” cast includes Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Lily-Beau Leach and Deba Hekmat alongside Joseph Quinn, Hayley Squires and Samantha Spiro. The film follows a young girl (Leach) living in London in 1984 as she navigates her mother’s obsessive hoarding. Flashing forward to the girl’s teenage years, she (Lightfoot-Leon) must confront the madness and trauma of her late mother when a stranger (Quinn) arrives on her doorstep.

“Hoard” is produced by Delaval Film, Erebus Pictures and Anti-Worlds with financing from the BFI.

Exclusive: Sunrise Films and Vertigo Releasing have acquired North American and UK distribution rights on the Danish horror-thriller The Girl in the Trunk. The film will be released on digital download across both territories on May 28.

Sunrise Films, the new internationally focused distribution label launched by Rupert Preston and Nigel Williams, will handle the North American release.

The pic was acquired from the Copenhagen-based REinvent International. The deal was negotiated between Vertigo Releasing’s head of US and international distribution Andrew Nerger and REinvent’s senior sales manager, Sanne Arlø.

Written and directed by Jonas Kvist Jensen (Brutal Incasso), the English-language film stars Caspar Phillipson and Katharina Sporrer (Genius) Jonas Kvist Jensen serves as writer-director. The film was produced by Morten Hjorth (Brutal Incasso), Jim Pedersen (Silverthread), Jannick Raunow (Revenge of the Necromancer), and Martin Mortensen Søe (The Black Hole).

The film follows a woman who finds herself...

Sean Durkin’s wrestling drama The Iron Claw will look to become box office champion on its opening weekend, starting in 517 UK-Ireland cinemas through Lionsgate.

The film tells the true story of the Von Erich brothers, who made history in the competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, 2017 Screen Star of Tomorrow Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons star as the Von Erich brothers, with Lily James and Maura Tierney also on the cast; Arcade Fire member Richard Reed Parry wrote the film’s score.

The Iron Claw premiered in Dallas, Texas just hours...

Six of the 20 UK talents have previously been named Screen Stars of Tomorrow.

Actors Bella Ramsey and Vivian Oparah, and filmmakers Adjani Salmon and Raine Allen-Miller are among 32 talents selected for the 10th anniversary edition of the Bafta Breakthrough programme.

The 2023 edition of the talent-spotting scheme includes 20 UK names, and 12 individuals from the US.

Scroll down for the full 2023 Breakthrough list

Those selected from the UK include Game Of Thrones and The Last Of Us star Ramsey, Dreaming Whilst Black creator Salmon, and Allen-Miller and Oparah, director and star of Rye Lane.

Also included are Blue Jean writer-director Georgia Oakley...

UK director George Amponsah’s thriller Gassed Up has won the London Film Festival (Lff) Audience Award for Best Feature in the 67th edition running from October 4 to 15, as the event also posts record participation.

Further Audiences Award winners, which were announced on Monday, went to The Taste of Mango for Best Documentary, Festival of Slaps for Best British Film/Work and Murals for Best Immersive Work/Xr.

Amponsah’s London-set thriller stars Stephen Odubola as a member of a moped street crime gang, who gets on the wrong side of an Albanian crime family.

Archie Maddocks co-wrote the screenplay with One Piece breakout Taz Skylar, who also appears in the film, with other cast including including Steve Toussaint (House Of The Dragon) and Tobias Jowett, soon to be seen in Nick Hamm’s upcoming epic William Tell.

The thriller marks Amponsah’s first fiction feature...

Both the ÖFI+ scheme for local films and the Fisa+ scheme for international shoots are being significantly enhanced.

Austrian producers have welcomed the government’s plans to increase the overall budget for the Fisa+ and ÖFI+ film and TV incentive schemes to more than €130m in 2024, to support both local production and to attract international film and TV production shoots.

The ÖFI+ scheme, which is administered by the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) as an extension of its funding portfolio, supports national Austrian productions and Austrian majority or minority co-productions, is set to see its budget increase by €24.4m from the...

Spanish actor Carla Tous will take over the role from Zegler who dropped out due to the SAG-AFTRA strike

Studiocanal has confirmed that Spanish actor Carla Tous has replaced Rachel Zegler in Paddington In Peru as the UK release date for the third instalment is set for November 8, 2024.

Zegler had previously dropped out of the project due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. Antonio Banderas has remained in the cast.

Production began on July 24 and location filming in London, Colombia and Peru has wrapped.

Tous’ previous roles include HBO’s Spanish-language series 30 Coins and Netflix romance drama Through My Window: Across The Sea...

The film explores the post-revolutionary Iran and the director’s fight for Iranian cinema.

UK-based sales agent Impronta Films has boarded world sales of Ehsan Khoshbakht’s documentary Celluloid Underground which recently premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.

Exploring post-revolutionary Iran, the film is a personal essay about the director’s quest to preserve Iranian cinema in the face of the new Islamic regime.

‘Celluloid Underground’: London Review

In addition to London, Celluloid Underground is screening at Morelia, Vienna, Mumbai and Lisbon festivals.

It is produced by Mary Bell and Adam Dawtrey for UK outfit Bofa, with funding...

Andrew Nerger will take on the new role at both Vertigo Releasing and Sunrise Films.

UK-based distributor Vertigo Releasing has hired Andrew Nerger in the newly-created role of head of US and international distribution.

Nerger will oversee the group’s growing distribution slate across North America, Australia-New Zealand and South Africa, as well as managing select titles for global rights.

He will work on both third-party acquisitions for Vertigo Releasing, and in-house productions for the Sunrise Films banner, the production and international distribution company run by the Vertigo team.

The hire is the latest step in Vertigo Releasing’s international expansion,...

Andrew Nerger will take on the new role at both Vertigo Releasing and Sunrise Films.

UK-based distributor Vertigo Releasing has hired Andrew Nerger in the new role of head of US and international distribution.

Nerger will oversee the group’s growing distribution slate across North America, Australia-New Zealand and South Africa, as well as managing select titles for global rights. He will work on both third-party acquisitions for Vertigo Releasing, and in-house productions for the Sunrise Films banner, the production and international distribution company run by the Vertigo team.

Nerger joins from UK-Ireland distributor Signature Entertainment, where he was director of international,...

Amazon Prime Video has greenlit BAFTA-nominated “Hard Stop” director George Amponsah’s feature film debut, action thriller “Gassed Up.”

Now in production in London, the movie will launch on Prime Video in the U.K. and Ireland in 2023. Directed by Amponsah, and written by Archie Maddocks and Taz Skylar, the film stars Stephen Odubola, Skylar and singer Mae Muller, as well as Ms Banks, Yung Filly and Harry Pinero.

Set during the peak of a wave of moped crimes sweeping London, “Gassed Up” follows 20-year-old Ash (Odubola), who is trying to earn money to raise his 14-year-old sister and send his mother to rehab, but gets caught up with an organized crime ring led by a young and charismatic Albanian immigrant (Skylar).

As the crimes get bigger and the attention becomes addictive, Ash struggles to keep his head above water. Soon, he has to choose between the people he loves,...

“Apocalypse Clown,” an ensemble comedy directed by BAFTA-nominated George Kane (“Timewasters”) has been boarded by Charades for international rights excluding the U.K. which is handled by Vertigo Releasing.

The movie was penned by Shane O’Brien, James Walmsley and Demian Fox from the comedy outfit Dead Cat Bounce. The film is headlined by David Earl, Natalie Palamides (“Nate — A One Man Show”), Amy De Bhrún (“The Bachelor Weekend”), Fionn Foley (“Dublin Oldschool”), Tadhg Murphy (“Brassic”) and Ivan Kaye (“Gunpowder Milkshake”).

Filmed on location in Dublin and Kildare, in Ireland, the film tells the tale of a troupe of failed clowns and an ambitious reporter who embark on a chaotic adventure of self-discovery after a mysterious solar event plunges the world into anarchy.

“I cannot wait to finally unleash this madness on audiences,” said Kane. “Our writers have crafted an ambitious, relentless and joyously silly script — the likes of which you...

Exclusive: XYZ Films is launching world sales on thriller Accused, the next film from UK filmmaker Philip Barantini whose Boiling Point was recently nominated for four BAFTAs including Outstanding British Film.

The Three Little Birds and Sunrise Films production is due to start on February 28 in the UK with XYZ financing and executive-producing.

The film stars Chaneil Kular (Sex Education) and Lauryn Ajufo, BIFA-nominated for her breakout role in Barantini’s Boiling Point.

In Accused, after he’s falsely accused of being a wanted terrorist by a group of internet sleuths, Harri Bavshar (Kular) must defend himself when death threats and abuse quickly turn into a fight for survival against a deadly home invasion.

Pic is being produced by Sara Sehdev and Samantha Beddoe for Three Little Birds, and Rupert Preston and Ed Caffrey for Sunrise Films.

Barantini collaborated with James Cummings (BAFTA nominated co-writer of Boiling Point) as well...

IFC Midnight has boarded U.S. rights to UK genre pic Burial. Principal photography has recently completed on the movie, the second feature from Ben Parker. The movie follows a small group of Russian soldiers on a secret mission to transport Hitler’s body out of enemy territory and back to Russia. Starring are Charlotte Vega, Tom Felton and Harriet Walter. Altitude Film Sales handled international sales and has released a first look at the project (above). Other confirmed distributors include Portugal (Nos), Baltics (Latvian Theatrical Distr), Indonesia (Pt Prima), South Korea (Noori), Vietnam (Media Film International), Middle East (Phars). Pic is produced by Matthew James Wilkinson.

The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation has announced the Red Sea Fund, a $10M fund which will support projects with directors from the Arab world and Africa. . The aim for the fund is to back more than 100 projects in its first year, including fiction,...

Crime thriller to mark directorial debut of Nicolas Winding Refn’s editor, Mat Newman.

Production and finance company Anton has boarded crime thriller No Place Like Kill, starring Sam Riley and Charles Dance, and will introduce the project to international buyers at the Pre-Cannes Screenings next week.

The film will mark the directorial debut of UK filmmaker Mat Newman, best known as Nicolas Winding Refn’s long-time editor, with credits including Drive and Only God Forgives.

Newman co-wrote the script with his brother, Ben Newman. Set in the north of England, the story follows a vengeance-driven mercenary and a police...

London-based financier Anton has boarded “No Place Like Kill,” an action-packed crime thriller from Mat Newman with Sam Riley and Charles Dance attached to star. The film will be presented to international buyers by Anton at the Virtual Cannes Film Market later this month.

Set to start shooting at the end of the year in the U.K., “No Place Like Kill” will mark the directorial debut of Newman, a well-established editor who has worked with Nicolas Winding Refn on “Drive” and “Only God Forgives,” as well as Stefano Sollima’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Remorse.”

Sunrise Films’ Rupert Preston and Moonage Pictures’ Matthew Read are producing. Charles Collier is an executive producer alongside Riley, Nigel Williams and Dance.

Newman co-wrote the script with his brother, Ben Newman. Set in Northern England, “No Place like Kill” follows a revenge-seeking mercenary and a police informant who are forced...

Three executives discuss their plans with Screen.

Independent UK distributors are feeling positive heading into the reopening of cinemas across the territory from next week (May 17), while noting ongoing confusion about the theatrical windows across different exhibitors.

“For the next few weeks, we’re fully concentrated on the theatrical experience,” says Rupert Preston, CEO at Vertigo Releasing which is distributing Oscar winner Sound Of Metal from Monday. “Digital and everything else will follow in a month or two.”

Sound Of Metal, starring Riz Ahmed as a heavy metal drummer who suffers sudden onset deafness, will play in 300 cinemas by the end of May.

As the recently approved Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine began rolling out in the U.K. this week, the prevailing mood across the film and TV industry was one of cautious optimism. The breakthrough could be, quite literally, the shot in the arm needed to return to pre-covid strength — as long as other government and industry support can bolster any progress.

Adrian Wootton, CEO of national agency the British Film Commission (Bfc), reveals that 85% of production in the country has now restarted. With filming returning to normal levels, the vaccine will be a “significant step” for the screen sector’s full recovery. “It will provide that extra level of security to the rigorous health and safety practices already being implemented across film and TV production to make it Covid-secure,” says Wootton.

The vaccination roll-out — a considerable morale boost for the U.K., where Covid-19 has claimed more than 63,000 lives to date — is already spawning television programming.

Evidence the sector is well-positioned to thrive in a post-pandemic, SVoD-driven market.

Producers dependent on UK independent distributors to finance their work and get it into cinemas have had a particularly anxious year. The pandemic has acclimatised audiences to watching films at home rather than in a cinema, and there have been major changes at some of the companies renowned for their commitment to the local film sector.

Zygi Kamasa has left Lionsgate UK, the company he co-founded as Redbus in 1997. Under Kamasa, Lionsgate UK was a staunch supporter of UK film, backing titles such as Bend It Like Beckham,...

Smaller distributors could be the biggest beneficiaries of exhibitors’ newfound flexibility.

Tim Richards, founder and CEO of the UK-based multiplex chain Vue Cinemas, has said the exhibitor will be “flexible with windows” as the industry scrambles to respond to the near-total absence of US blockbusters at the theatrical box office in 2020.

“We will absolutely be flexible with windows,” said Richards. “It’s probably a discussion that is long overdue but it’s a discussion we are having right now. We are willing to consider reducing windows.

“I don’t think we will ever see a time when we are going...

When all 1,180 screens across Cineworld and Picturehouse’s cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland shutter from Friday, they will wipe out a third of potential box office revenue for distributors. On top of Odeon’s plans for weekend-only operations in a quarter of its movie theaters, the outlook may appear bleak for cinema-going in the U.K. But as the dust settles, numerous distributors tell Variety that the exhibition crisis won’t hinder their release plans, even though the temporary loss of Cineworld will make an undeniable dent in revenues.

“In the past three months, we’ve been incredibly proactive in the theatrical space and released six films that have a combined gross box office of over £2.5 million [$3.2 million],” Rupert Preston, CEO of Vertigo Releasing, told Variety. “Cineworld and Picturehouse have accounted for over 30% of that gross. So clearly, without them, there is a big hole to fill going forward.

Plans have changed for the SXSW award-winner, which was set for a digital-only release in the UK until cinemas were given the green light to reopen.

SXSW award-winner Saint Frances is shifting from a digital-only release in the UK to a full theatrical run as cinemas prepare to reopen after months of lockdown.

Vertigo Releasing had planned to release the comedy drama direct to digital platforms on July 10, after acquiring the feature from Visit Films around the time all cinemas were closed in mid-March in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

But with cinemas set to reopen in England from...

Thomas Clay’s period drama stars Maxine Peak and Charles Dance.

Vertigo Releasing has secured UK and Ireland rights to period genre drama Fanny Lye Deliver’d from Berlin-based Coproduction Office and has set a digital release for June 26.

Set in 1657, the film stars Maxine Peake as a Puritan woman who lives on an isolated farm with her husband, played by Charles Dance, and whose simple world is shaken by the arrival of a mysterious young couple. The cast also includes Freddie Fox and Tanya Reynolds.

Rupert Preston, CEO of Vertigo Releasing, told Screen the film had been acquired following the lockdown,...

Under the new partnership, the duo has already acquired 15 titles for release in Anz this year.

Vertigo Releasing and Rialto Distribution have joined forces on a new distribution venture for Australia and New Zealand.

The partnership has been forged to give the two independent companies more clout in the international market and will see London-based Vertigo co-acquire and co-release films in Anz with Australasia’s Rialto. Vertigo’s UK releasing strategy will remain separate.

Under the new partnership, the duo has already acquired 15 titles for release in Anz this year including Harvey Weinstein-inspired drama The Assistant from Us director Kitty Green,...

Exclusive: Sound Of Metal, Darius Marder’s well-received Tiff premiere, has scored a UK distribution deal with indie releasing outfit Vertigo.

Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke star in the pic about a passionate drummer who loses his hearing, upending his world and causing him to struggle with depression and be tempted by past addictions.

The project was director Marder’s debut narrative feature. He previously helmed 2008 documentary feature Loot and co-wrote Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond The Pines.

Sound Of Metal premiered at Tiff in the Platform strand and won the Golden Eye for best international feature film at the 2019 Zurich Film Festival.

The deal was negotiated by Rupert Preston, CEO of Vertigo Releasing, and George Hamilton, Head of Sales for UK sales outfit Protagonist Pictures.

Producers on the movie are Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche from Caviar. As previously announced, Amazon Studios acquired all U.S. rights.

Back in 2016, it was reported at the Cannes Film Festival that a remake of 1968's Witchfinder General was in the works with Nicolas Winding Refn (The Neon Demon) producing. Now, several years later at Cannes, the director for the remake has been revealed.

Deadline reports that John Hillcoat is on board to direct the Witchfinder General remake. A cast has yet to be assembled, but production is being planned to begin as early as this year.

Hillcoat will direct from a screenplay by Jon Croker (The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death), with Bynwr.com's Refn and Rupert Preston producing alongside Hillcoat’s Blank Films.

Here's what Refn had to say (via Deadline) about Hillcoat directing the remake:

"It is with extreme pleasure that both Rupert and I can incorporate John Hillcoat into our group as director for our production of Witchfinder General. It gives me enormous satisfaction to...

The 1968 historical horror drama Witchfinder General is getting remade by director John Hillcoat (Lawless) and producer Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive).

For those of you not familiar with the original movie, is starred the great Vincent Price and was based on a novel written by Ronald Bassett. The story is set in 1645 Norfolk, England, it was “a fictionalized study of real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins and the heinous crimes he committed during the English Civil War.”

The original film also featured a lot of torture and violence, which as you might image, stirred up some good controversy at the time. As it played at drive-ins and grindhouse theaters, it became a cult classic. With Hillcoat and Refn bringing this story to life again, I imagine they’ll also want to push the limits in regards to crazy content.

Jon Croker (Woman In Black 2) has been hired to write the script, and...

After Nicolas Winding Refn came on board a few years ago to a remake of the 1968 historical horror classic Witchfinder General, originally directed by Michael Reeves, a new director has been found. Deadline reports John Hillcoat will now be helming the project and Winding Refn will be producing.

The original movie starred Vincent Price in the lead role of Matthew Hopkins who is a witch hunter with some intense violence and scenes of torture unspooling, set during the English Civil War. The project will be developed through Hillcoat’s production company Blank Films, and with additional help from Bynwr.com and Sunrise Films.

Ahead of a shoot beginning later this year, Hillcoat says, “I am excited to work with fellow filmmaker Nic Refn, a maverick auteur and who, together with Rupert Preston, have been fully committed to independent cinema over the years. I’m drawn to the dynamic departures behind this remake.

Exclusive: Coming full circle here at Cannes after Deadline reported a few years ago that Nicolas Winding Refn was preparing a remake of historical horror drama Witchfinder General, the project now has a director. John Hillcoat (Lawless) has boarded the production as helmer while the filmmakers are out to cast with a start eyed later this year.

Refn and Rupert Preston, through their new production ventures Bynwr.com and Sunrise Films, together with Hillcoat’s Blank Films, are producing the update. All developed the project which is written by Jon Croker (Woman In Black 2).

The original Witchfinder General starred Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy and Hilary Dwyer and was based on Ronald Bassett’s novel. Set in 1645 Norfolk, England, it was a fictionalized study of real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins and the heinous crimes he committed during the English Civil War. Torture and violence featured heavily in the original film, which stirred controversy,...

Leaving EU could mean currency fluctuations, delayed DVD shipments and less financial support.

Most UK film distributors admit they simply do not know what Brexit will mean for their businesses in both the short and the long term.

Even before March 29, 2019, the date on which the UK is due to leave the European Union, with or without a deal, these distributors had already experienced considerable upheaval. They talk darkly of the precipitous fall of the pound following the Brexit referendum vote in the summer of 2016 and how that immediately weakened their purchasing power at film markets. When they ran the numbers,...

Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane star in coming-of-age drama.

The Miseducation Of Cameron Post, Desiree Akhavan’s Sundance Grand Jury prize winner, has landed a UK distribution deal with Vertigo Releasing.

Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, John Gallagher Jr., Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck and Jennifer Ehle, the comedy-drama is adapted from Emily Danforth’s coming-of-age novel of the same name.

The story centres on a young girl who is sent to a gay conversion therapy centre after being caught with another girl on prom night. Once there, she forms an unlikely gay community with several of the other teenagers who are staying there.

Adam Deacon, grime artist Ghetts starring in prequel.

Vertigo Releasing is partnering with music label Island Records on the release of its UK crime thriller prequel The Intent 2: The Come Up.

Nicky Slimting Walker and Femi Oyeniran have re-teamed to write and star in the prequel following their 2016 feature The Intent, which they self-financed and self-distributed in UK cinemas before landing a global streaming deal with Netflix in May last year.

Adam Deacon (Kidulthood), Ashley Chin (Starred Up), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Top Boy) and Dylan Duffus (Line Of Duty) star in the second film alongside notable figures from the UK...

Fantastic Fest premiere in 2017 was followed by prize at Sitges.

Vertigo Releasing has acquired UK rights to zombie musical Anna And The Apocalypse after sealing a deal with Amp International.

The film follows a group of friends who must fight – and sing – their way through a zombie invasion. It premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2017 and won Sitges’ Best Midnight X-Treme Feature Length Film prize.

Vertigo is plotting a wide theatrical UK release later this year to coincide with the North American release from Orion Pictures, the new Us marketing and distribution company launched by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).

Vertigo CEO Rupert Preston said: “This is an incredibly original and entertaining film that audiences across the UK will love and devour!”

Amp International has also sold the title to Japan (Pony Canyon), German-speaking Europe and Benelux (Splendid), Middle East (Front Row), Taiwan (MovieCloud), and Latin America (MGM).

Pan-Asian TV rights have gone to Fox Asia.

The deals were negotiated...

French thriller played at Toronto and is now heading to Sundance.

Source: Shudder

‘Revenge’

AMC Networks’ genre Svod service Shudder is partnering with distributor Vertigo Releasing for the UK and Ireland launch of Toronto thriller Revenge by writer-director Coralie Fargeat.

The film is on its way to the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and has previously played at genre festivals including Fantastic Fest and Sitges. Vertigo and Shudder are planning a spring 2018 theatrical release.

Staring Matilda Lutz (Ring) as Jen, a young woman who goes on vacation at a remote desert villa with her millionaire boyfriend (Kevin Janssens), the story begins as their romantic weekend goes off the rails when her lover’s hunting pals show up on the scene, triggering a wave of violence.

The well-received French feature is produced by Marc-Etienne Schwartz’s M.E.S. Prods. and Marc Stanimirovic’s Monkey Pack Films. Paris-based outfit Charades handles international sales.

As previously announced...

Exclusive: Vertigo nabs Us, UK, Australia rights on cocaine comedy which has grossed more than €1m in Ireland.

Vertigo Releasing has picked up hit Irish comedy The Young Offenders for distribution in Us and Canada, UK and Australia/New Zealand.

Writer-director Peter Foott’s (TV series The Republic Of Telly) feature debut stars newcomers Alex Murphy and Chris Walley alongside Hilary Rose (The Republic Of Telly) and stand-up comedian Pj Gallagher (Naked Camera).

Inspired by Ireland’s biggest cocaine seizure of €440 million off the coast of Cork in 2007, the film follows two inner-city teenagers as they embark on a 160km road trip on stolen bikes in the hopes of finding some unrecovered bales.

Peter Foott and Julie Ryan of Vico Films produced the movie with Xyz handling North American sales.

The deal was completed by Ed Caffrey of Vertigo Releasing, Peter Foott of Vico Films and Nate Bolotin of Xyz Films.

The movie has...

Distributor sets December release for whistleblower biopic.

London-based distributor Vertigo Releasing has struck a deal with sales agent Wild Bunch for UK rights to Oliver Stone’s biopic of Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The company has set a December release for Snowden, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the titular role alongside Shailene Woodley (Divergent) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek).

The film’s UK release is expected to be around 150 sites.

Snowden premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and also played Zurich Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival.

Read: Oliver Stone: making ‘Snowden’ was a “desperate venture”

Multi Oscar-winner Stone directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Kieran Fitzgerald (The Homesman). It was based on two books: The Snowden Files by Luke Harding, and Time of the Octopus by Anatoly Kucherena.

Producers are Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle and Fernando Sulichin.

Read: Gordon-Levitt talks Snowden: “I know he would love to come home”

Vertigo’s MD Rupert Preston...

Distributor plots November release for Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon-starring drama.

London-based distribution outfit Vertigo Releasing has taken UK rights to James Schamus’s 1950s, Us-set drama Indignation.

Following its premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January, the film has travelled to the Berlinale, Sundance London and the Jerusalem Film Festival. It is set to open the UK Jewish Film Festival on November 5. Vertigo is plotting a release on November 18.

Written, directed and produced by three-time Oscar-nominee Schamus, the film stars Logan Lerma and Sarah Gadon in the story of a working class Jewish student struggling with cultural disaffection and sexual repression in 1950s Ohio.

The deal was conducted with sales agent FilmNation.

Rupert Preston of Vertigo commented: “We’re delighted to be working with Oscar winner James Schamus on his directorial debut. Indignation is a remarkable movie which we’re looking forward to bringing to a UK audience.”

Vertigo currently...

Exclusive: Iran-set horror sold by Xyz will be released theatrically by Vertigo on Sept 30.

Vertigo Releasing has picked up Babak Anvari’s Iran-set horror Under The Shadow and will release the film in the UK and Ireland on September 30.

The film premiered at Sundance in January this year, where Screen’s review called it a “distinctive spin on a familiar premise.”

Set in war-torn Tehran in the 1980s, the story follows a mother and daughter struggling to cope with a mysterious evil that haunts their home. Narges Rashidi and Avin Manshadi star.

Read: Babak Anvari talks ‘Under The Shadow’

Lucan Toh, Emily Leo and Oliver Roskill produced the horror feature for London-based Wigwam Films.

Netflix picked up the film’s streaming rights prior to the film’s Sundance premiere. Vertical Entertainment are combining with Xyz on distribution in select territories including the Us in October.

Sales outfit Xyz boarded the film in April 2015. Nate Bolotin from Xyz conducted...

With the confirmation of Maniac Cop moving forward and the addition of Witchfinder General Danish filmmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn has added the final piece to a trio of horror film remakes.   Deadline reports that Refn has added the 1972 Giallo flick What Have You Done To Solange? to his production slate and will set the tale in Los Angeles.    He will work with Solange's original producer Fulvio Lucisano who also released all of Refn's films in Italy. Lucisano also produced the 1965 film Planet of the Vampires which Refn screened a restoration of at Cannes this year. Much like Refn working with his UK distributor Rupert Preston on Witchfinder Refn is recognizing Lucisano's loyalty throughout his career. Loosely based on the Edgar Wallace...

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Exclusive: What Have You Done To Solange? is rounding out a trio of classic horror remakes being undertaken by Nicolas Winding Refn. The 1972 giallo film was originally helmed by Massimo Dallamano and produced by Fulvio Lucisano. As with the upcoming re-dos of Maniac Cop and Witchfinder General, Refn will produce but not direct. His Space Rocket, in which he’s partnered with Lene Borglum, is teaming with Lucisano and his Italian International Film on the project.

Much as with Witchfinder, on which he’s partnered with Rupert Preston, Refn is teaming on Solange with a longtime collaborator in Lucisano who has released all of his films in Italy. He also produced 1965’s Planet Of The Vampires, a restoration of which Refn presented in Cannes last week. The Danish filmmaker tells me he’d been eyeing Solange for some time, and he and Lucisano had recently talked about hooking up on a remake.

Acclaimed filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn has scored the remake rights to Michael Reeves' 1968 cult historical horror tale "Witchfinder General" (aka. "The Conqueror Worm").

Based on Ronald Bassett's novel, Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy and Hilary Dwyer starred in the acclaimed original which was set in Norfolk, England in 1645 and follows real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins and the heinous crimes he committed during the English Civil War.

Refn will produce, but Not direct, this new $5-10 million budgeted adaptation alongside Rupert Preston through their Space Rocket Nation and Sunrise Films labels. Vertigo Releasing will handle UK distribution.

The plan is to go into production next year with a view to bringing a new audience to the story, but the decision about whether to completely contemporize the story has not yet been decided.

Refn has "The Neon Demon" playing at Cannes and is producing another horror remake, "Maniac Cop," which is...

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The terrifying cult classic Witchfinder General is getting a remake...

Michael Reeves’ 1968 cult horror film Witchfinder General (known as The Conqueror Worm in the Us) has had several generations looking over their shoulders in the dark. Now Nicolas Winding Refn and Rupert Preston have acquired the rights to revive Reeves’ infamously disturbing classic.

Based on the Ronald Basset novel detailing the gruesome history of 17th-century English witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General gives a harrowing account of his reign of terror. 'Evidence' of a witch could be anything from a stillbirth to a drought to a circle of women gathering in the forest (presumably to worship the devil) to after nightfall. Hopkins would use almost unspeakable methods of torture to wring a confession out of suspected witches, and the violence shown in the film was considered scandalous for late 60s cinema.

While heavily censored following outrage in the UK,...

Considered by many to feature one of Vincent Price’s best performances, 1968’s Witchfinder General is getting remade as a new film produced by Nicolas Winding Refn (The Neon Demon).

According to THR, there is word coming out of the Cannes Film Festival that Refn will produce a Witchfinder General reboot. Refn will help move the reboot forward in development with his collaborator Lene Borglum, but The Neon Demon director will not helm the remake. A search is currently underway for a writer and director for the project, which is estimated to have a $5–$10 million budget.

Also on board to produce the film is Rupert Preston’s Sunrise Films. The UK rights to the Witchfinder General remake have already been acquired by Vertigo Releasing, while Protagonist will oversee international sales.

Directed by Michael Reeves and based on the real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins, the original Witchfinder General, aka The Conqueror Worm,...

More news about Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn this morning. The director announced that he is reuniting with the UK based distributor that helped get Refn's Pusher out into the World. We are all indebted to this man, Rupert Preston.    As the story goes in this article in Deadline Refn was having trouble getting his crime thriller out beyond the borders of Denmark. Preston saw the film and picked it up for distribution in the UK and brought Refn to England for press. The rest, as they say, is history; beautiful neon drenched, blood soaked, history.     The pair continued working together, Preston distributing Refn's film in the UK, up until Drive. Refn has wanted to reunite with Preston since and produce another...

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Exclusive: Nicolas Winding Refn and UK-based producer-distributor Rupert Preston are pulling together a passion project, acquiring the remake rights to Michael Reeves’ 1968 Witchfinder General. Re-titled The Conqueror Worm in its U.S. debut at the time, the historical horror drama became a cult favorite. Refn, who will produce and not direct, and Preston are developing the redo — the former via his Space Rocket Nation, in which he is partnered with Lene Borglum, and the…...

Exclusive: Distributor sets an April 29 release for the animation based on the video game franchise.

UK distributor Vertigo Releasing has picked up Ratchet & Clank, the animated film based on the popular PlayStation video games series.

James Arnold Taylor (Johnny Test), David Kaye (Up) and Jim Ward (Wall-e) lead the voice cast, which also includes Sylvester Stallone, Paul Giamatti and John Goodman.

The story sees the titular duo combatting the evil intentions of Chairman Drek, who plans to destroy every planet in the Solana Galaxy.

Rupert Preston of Vertigo and Edward Noeltner from Cinema Management Group, who are handling international rights outside of the Us, conducted the deal.

The company has set a theatrical release for April 29, which is set to coincide with a new entry in the Ratchet & Clank video game series.

Exclusive: Parody comedy Fifty Shades Of Black and Kristen Wiig-starring Welcome To Me both included in deal.

Vertigo Releasing has penned a six-picture DVD distribution deal with indie outfit Signature Entertainment.

The first film to be released under the new partnership will be Shira Piven’s comedy-drama Welcome To Me [pictured], starring Kristen Wiig, which will hit shelves on May 9.

The deal also includes Fifty Shades Of Black, Michael Tiddes’ Fifty Shades Of Grey parody, and Arild Fröhlich Norwegian-German comedy Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder.

Further titles are Benjamin Rocher’s Jean Reno-starring The Sweeney: Paris; Steven Gomez’s action sci-fi Kill Command; and Isabel Coixet’s Learning To Drive, starring Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley

Rupert Preston of Vertigo inked the initial deal with Marc Goldberg of Signature, with the potential for future deals on the near horizon.