Berlin Hot List: Art House Takes Back Seat to Commercial Action and Horror at Berlin Market
Big names, high concepts, and crowd-pleasing thrills are the order of the day at this year’s European Film Market, where commercial fare is dominating over the usual arthouse prestige plays, reflecting an industry uncertain of the future of the theatrical business in the post-COVID world. Action, horror, and comedy are leading the charge, with star-driven projects like Guy Ritchie’s Wife & Dog (Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike), Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien, A$AP Rocky), and Ernest Dickerson’s untitled hitman thriller (Samuel L. Jackson, Daveed Diggs) among the titles generating early buzz.
Genre filmmakers are also stepping up in a big way, with The Raid’s Iko Uwais launching a new production/sales outfit in Berlin for his brand of martial-arts madness, and horror entries like Bad Boy — starring Ke Huy Quan and Lili Reinhart — and the body-horror thriller Diamond Shitter poised to scare up sales. Comedy, usually a tough sell internationally, is also having a moment, from Neon’s Old Pals, and odd-couple style farce with Henry Winkler and Brian Cox as recently widowed curmudgeons, and the stoner laugher Toad from Detroit Rock City helmer Adam Rifkin with Tiffany Haddish, James Franco, James Paxton and Oliver Wyman.
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Drama picks look comparatively thin on the ground in Berlin, though some high-profile titles — David Lowery’s Mother Mary with Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel; Cristian Mungiu’s English-language debut Fjord starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve; the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer The Thing With Feathers from Dylan Southern; and a new feature from Mike Leigh — should keep specialist buyers happy.
500 MILES
DIRECTOR Morgan Matthews
STARS Roman Griffin Davis, Bill Nighy, Maisie Williams
BUZZ Jojo Rabbit breakout Davis joins screen veterans Nighy and Game of Thrones alum Williams in this warm-hearted adventure comedy. The film follows teenager Finn (Davis) as he and his younger brother Charlie (newcomer Dexter Sol Ansell) embark on a 500-mile journey to Ireland to reach their estranged grandfather. The producer team, which includes David Thompson (Billy Elliot), Martina Niland (Sing Street) and Alex Gordon and Keren Misgav Ristvedt (Hope Gap), gives a feel for the all-ages appeal of this Emerald Isle crowd-pleaser. SALES Beta Cinema
A GIRL WITH CLOSED EYES
DIRECTOR Chun Sunyoung
STARS Kim Minha, Moon Choi
BUZZ This Korean feature starring Kim Minha from Apple TV+’s hit series Pachinko comes to Berlin with a raft of Asian sales following its debut at Busan last year. The thriller plots follows a murder suspect and a detective with a shared past, who are reunited by the killing of a bestselling author.
SALES Finecut
ARCTIC SKIES
DIRECTORS Elliot & Zander Weaver
STARS Morfydd Clark, Ariyon Bakare
BUZZ LOTR: Rings of Power star Clark and Life actor Bakare lend drawing power to this sci-fi thriller inspired by a well-documented UFA mystery involving a cargo plane crew flying over the Arctic Circle finds. One of the many EFM titles this year looking to land in the sweet spot between art house credibility and commercial viability.
SALES Independent Entertainment
BAD BOY
DIRECTOR Jacob Chase
STARS Ke Huy Quan, Lili Reinhart
BUZZ A genre-bending horror thriller…with a dog! Hard to see who will be able to resist this new feature from Come Play helmer Chase, told from the POV of a loyal terrier devoted to his new owner, Cameron (Quan) who discovers a captive girl (Reinhart) locked away in the basement, becoming her only hope for survival.
SALES Black Bear, CAA Media Finance, UTA
THE BLOOD COUNTESS
DIRECTOR Ulrike Ottinger
STARS Isabelle Huppert, Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Thomas Schubert
BUZZ The latest reimagining of the story of Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory — accused of bathing in the blood of virgins to retain her youth — features an A-list cast of arthouse superstars, led by Huppert as the bloodthirsty Countess, and a script co-written by Noble Prize-winning author Elfriede Jelinek (The Piano Teacher). Tasty stuff for specialist distribs and horror fans alike.
SALES Magnify
BREATHE DEEP
DIRECTOR James Kermack
STARS Ingrid Torelli, Michiel Huisman, Avani Gregg
BUZZ Shark movies sell and this high-adrenaline survival thriller is hoping to tap into wider appeal thanks to TikTok star Avani Gregg in her first major film role. The plot has Late Night With the Devil actress Ingrid Torelli as an exploration influencer who returns to the site of her father’s death, by shark attack, only to find herself in a battle with a killer great white.
SALES Cornerstone Films
THE BUTLER
DIRECTOR Tom Edmunds
STAR Jean Reno
BUZZ Downton Abbey meets Die Hard in this period action thriller starring Reno as a retired WWI commando turned family butler whose old skills come in handy when a group of mobsters stage an invasion of his employers’ stately home. An interesting attempt to fuse the male-skewing action audience with the female-leaning upstairs/downstairs crowd.
SALES K5 International
THE DESERT CHILD
DIRECTOR Gilles de Maistre
STARS Kev Adams
BUZZ A visually stunning true-story-inspired adventure about a child raised by ostriches in the Sahara. Another potential animal-human family-friendly hit from the French director of Mia and the White Lion and Autumn and the Black Jaguar.
SALES Studiocanal
DIAMOND SHITTER
DIRECTOR Antonia Campbell-Hughes
STARS Raffey Cassidy, Eva Green, Ben Whishaw, Alessandro Nivola
BUZZ A socially-critical body horror thriller to fill The Substance-sized gap in any distributor’s schedule, this feature directed by Bright Star actress Campbell-Hughes follows a young intern in the world of Geneva’s expat elite who physically absorbs the precious gems of her host family.
SALES Beta Cinema, UTA Independent Film Group
DIE BY NIGHT
DIRECTOR Rod Blackhurst
STARS Isabelle Fuhrman, Ben Hardy, Scoot McNairy
BUZZ A dystopian survival thriller in the mode of A Quiet Place in which the monsters — known as The Horde — come out at night and nightfall brings set in a post-apocalyptic world where nightfall unleashes deadly creatures known as The Horde. Lucia (Fuhrman), a runaway, teams up with Barry (Hardy) to try and reach The Wall, where safety awaits, dodging dangers, natural and supernatural, along the way. A stylish and relentless genre entry the should scare up some international business in Berlin.
SALES Protagonist Pictures, UTA Independent Film Group
DREADNOUGHT
DIRECTORS Cary Murnion, Jonathan Milott
STAR Dave Bautista
BUZZ This dystopian thriller, from John Wick producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee and featuring Dave Bautista (re-uniting with his Bushwick director) a man battling aliens, should find eager takers amid Berlin’s more commercially-leaning distributors.
SALES WME Independent
EDDINGTON
DIRECTOR Ari Aster
STARS Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Austin Butler
BUZZ Aster’s latest is a modern-day Western thriller featuring Phoenix as a small-town sheriff with big ambitions. Details are scarce, but the powerhouse cast and A24 backing mean this one will have little trouble rustling up pre-sales.
SALES A24
EPIPHANY
DIRECTOR Max Barbakow
STARS Kristen Wiig, Bill Murray
BUZZ Max Barbakow’s Palm Springs follow-up has Wiig playing a penniless heiress who needs to land a rich husband in two weeks before she ends up on the street. Her best (only?) prospect is math savant and billionaire Oz Bell (Murray). Funny movies can have a tough time finding international sales success but with two global comedy legends on board, this high-concept laffer should lose nothing in translation.
SALES CAA Media Finance, Range Media Partners, Rocket Science
FJORD
DIRECTOR Cristian Mungiu
STARS Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve
BUZZ Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) makes his English-language debut with this unsettling drama about cultural clashes and parental suspicion in a remote Norwegian village. With a powerhouse pairing of Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, this features is primed for prestige festival slots and major arthouse interest.
SALES Goodfellas.
GANGSTAS
DIRECTORS Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah
STARS Matteo Simoni, Nora Gharib, Junes Lazaar, Sa?d Boumazoughe
BUZZ The Bad Boys: Ride or Die directors return to their roots in the mean streets of Antwerp with this long-awaited sequel to their 2018 cult hit, a crime thriller certain to be snatched up by indie buyers with a taste for cross-over genre.
SALES Indie Sales
GOOD SEX
DIRECTOR Lena Dunham
STARS Natalie Portman
BUZZ This feature from Girls creator Dunham sees Portman playing a successful couples’ therapist who gets tossed back into the New York dating scene after the collapse of her decade-long relationship, and finds herself caught between a passionate affair with a 20-something hipster and the prospect of something more solid with a 50-something executive. Stands out as one of the very few rom-coms with an A-list star on offer in Berlin.
SALES CAA Media Finance, FilmNation Entertainment
HONEY BUNCH
DIRECTORS Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
STARS Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Kate Dickie, Jason Isaacs, India Brown
BUZZ A psychological thriller about memory, marriage, and experimental treatments. Premiering in Berlinale Special, this unsettling drama could be a sleeper hit.
SALES XYZ Films (world minus UK & Canada)
IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
DIRECTOR Mary Bronstein
STARS Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, A$AP Rocky
BUZZ A dark comedy-drama about a mother struggling with a mysterious illness, a missing person, and an unhelpful therapist, Bronstein’s dramedy arrives at Berlin buoyed by a strong Sundance bow and with arguably the festival’s coolest cast.
SALES A24
JIMPA
DIRECTOR Sophie Hyde
STARS Olivia Colman, John Lithgow
BUZZ A heartfelt, multi-generational family story where Hannah (Colman) takes her trans non-binary teenager, Frances, to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, “Jimpa” (Lithgow). As Frances expresses a desire to stay abroad, Hannah confronts her parenting beliefs and past narratives, leading to a journey of self-discovery and acceptance.
SALES Protagonist Pictures, CAA Media Finance
KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
DIRECTOR Bill Condon
STARS Diego Luna, Jennifer Lopez
BUZZ A rare indie musical offering from the director of Chicago and Dreamgirls, this Broadway adaptation could appeal to bigger international buyers looking for a studio-sized feature to take wide. The Broadway adaptation is set in 1980s Argentina and follows two political prisoners who bond over a fantastical story.
SALES AGC, CAA, WME
HOT MILK
DIRECTOR Rebecca Lenkiewicz
STARS Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps, Vincent Perez, Patsy Ferran
BUZZ Acclaimed British screenwriter Lenkiewicz (Ida, Disobedience, She Said) makes her directorial debut with this drama about a mother and daughter (Shaw and Mackey) who travel to the Spanish seaside to consult an enigmatic healer (Perez), in the hopes he can heal the mother’s mysterious illness. A stand-out entry in a market with few top-drawer dramas to choose from.
SALES HanWay Films
MOTHER MARY
DIRECTOR David Lowery
STARS Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, FKA Twigs
BUZZ The latest from The Green Knight and A Ghost Story directorLowery is a pop melodrama following a fictional musician (Hathaway) and her relationship with an iconic fashion designer (Coel). Lowery’s visually poetic storytelling and the star-studded cast could make this an awards contender.
SALES A24
OLD PALS
DIRECTOR Wendey Stanzler
STARS Henry Winkler, Brian Cox, Emma Roberts, Evan Rachel Wood
BUZZ Emmy-winning TV veteran Stanzler (Sex and the City, Party Down) makes her feature directorial debut with this odd-couple comedy aimed directly at the best-agers demo. Winkler and Cox play recently widowed curmudgeons forced into an unlikely friendship by their scheming daughters (Roberts & Wood).
SALES Neon International, CAA Media Finance, Verve Ventures
PERFECT GIRL
DIRECTOR Hong Won-ki
STARS Adeline Rudolph, Arden Cho
BUZZ A psychological thriller set in the ultra-competitive world of K-pop, this feature from K-Pop videographer turned horror director Hong Won-ki (Goedam, Urban Myths), based on a 2023 Black List script by Lynn Q. Yu, is pitched as Scream meets Black Swan and comes with a pair of rising stars in the form of Rudolph (Mortal Kombat 2), and Arden Cho (Partner Track).
SALES Upgrade
PETER HUJAR’S DAY
DIRECTOR Ira Sachs
STARS Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall
BUZZ After the Sundance-to-Berlinale pipeline success of Passages last year, Sachs is taking a similar route for his latest Ben Whishaw vehicle, a two-hander that sees the Brit actor playing New York photographer Hujar, alongside Hall as his friend, author Linda Rosenkrantz, and based on a recently-discovered 1974 conversation between the pair.
SALES WME, SBS
THE RAGE
DIRECTOR Paul Greengrass
STARS Matthew McConaughey
BUZZ Oscar winner McConaughey teams up with acclaimed director Greengrass in this historical drama set during England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt. McConaughey portrays a farmer who rises to lead the uprising against oppressive taxation and socio-economic injustices. The combo of Greengrass with McConaughey’s star power should make this an appealing awards play for upscale indie buyers.
SALES FilmNation Entertainment
RUNNER
DIRECTOR Scott Waugh
STARS Alan Ritchson, Owen Wilson
BUZZ Reacher‘s Alan Ritchson teams up with Owen Wilson in this high-octane action thriller which looks custom-made for the international market. Ritchson plays a high-end courier racing against time to deliver a life-saving organ, with Wilson as a medical professional caught in the crossfire.
SALES WME Independent, A Higher Standard
THE SHITHEADS
DIRECTOR Macon Blair
STARS Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Peter Dinklage
BUZZ A dark, raucous road-trip comedy following two down-and-out losers tasked with transporting a troubled rich kid to rehab—only to spiral into a series of drug-fueled disasters. With Franco and Jackson leading the chaos, this could be an in-demand title for buyers looking for low-grade stoner laughs.
SALES WME Independent
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT
DIRECTOR Mike P. Nelson
BUZZ Cineverse, the studio behind the successful Terrifier franchise, is teaming up with Wrong Turn helmer Mike P. Nelson for this reimagining of the controversial 1984 slasher classic. It already looks to be a bloody holiday favorite, with the film’s original producers on board for the reboot and delivery set for late this year.
SALES Studiocanal/Sixth Dimension (excluding North America)
SLEEPING LIONS
DIRECTOR Mat Whitecross
STARS Jonathan Pryce, Nick Mohammed
BUZZ Pitched as Agatha Christie meets Knives Out, this British comedy whodunit from Road to Guantanamo director Whitecross sees Slow Horses actor Pryce plays a dying Earl who summons his dearest friends and family for a final Christmas. When a snowstorm hits, the guests are cut off from the world and someone tries to kill the Earl’s son, the leader of a dangerous new political party.
SALES Mister Smith Entertainment
THE THING WITH FEATHERS
DIRECTOR Dylan Southern
STARS Benedict Cumberbatch
BUZZ One of Berlin market’s biggest awards plays is this drama, adapted from Max Porter’s 2015 novella Grief Is the Thing With Feathers, and featuring Cumberbatch as a recently widowed father of two young sons who, while still processing the sudden death of his wife, begins to feel stalked by a malevolent presence.
SALES UTA, MK2
TIMUR
DIRECTOR Iko Uwais
STARS Iko Uwais
BUZZ The directorial debut of Indonesian martial arts master, and The Raid star Uwais, this feature is inspired by the real-life international hostage crisis in Mapenduma in 1996 and its subsequent rescue operation. One of two projects Uwais is bringing to Berlin to launch his new production and sales outfit, it will test the international appetite for his brand of bone-crunching action.
SALES Uwais Pictures
TOAD
DIRECTOR Adam Rifkin
STARS Tiffany Haddish, James Franco, Christopher Meloni, Katt Williams, Craig Robinson, James Paxton, Oliver Wyman
BUZZ The second Franco-friendly stoner comedy at EFM this year features older brother James in a supporting role alongside James Paxton and Oliver Wyman as two clueless drug mules who accidentally trip on “acid toads.”
SALES Architect
TRUST THE MAN
DIRECTOR Will Graham
STARS Daniel Radcliffe, Lucas Hedges
BUZZ Emmy nominee Will Graham (Daisy Jones & The Six) helms this Vietnam War-set psychological thriller about an Army Intelligence officer (Radcliffe) assigned to investigate a decorated soldier (Hedges) with a shadowy past. With Radcliffe and Hedges above the line, this promises the kind of powerhouse performances that will have distributors on high alert.
SALES Neon International
UNTITLED HITMAN THRILLER
DIRECTOR Ernest Dickerson
STARS Samuel L. Jackson, Daveed Diggs
BUZZ Jackson plays a retired mob hitman forced back into action when his nephew (Diggs) is accused of stealing from the wrong people. A no-nonsense action thriller that should have no problem convincing international buyers to sign up.
SALES WME Independent, Fifth Season, CAA Media Finance
UNTITLED MIKE LEIGH
DIRECTOR Mike Leigh
STARS TBC
BUZZ Hot off his celebrated return with Hard Truths, veteran British auteur Leigh has confirmed he is shooting another drama this year. Details are scarce — Leigh never reveals his plots or even his main characters before a film is finished — but his Hard Truth collaborators are back on board, including Bleecker Street, which will release the film in the U.S., and StudioCanal, which has U.K. rights.
SALES Cornerstone Films
WIFE & DOG
DIRECTOR Guy Ritchie
STARS Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike, Anthony Hopkins, Cosmo Jarvis, James Norton, Paddy Considine, Pip Torrens
BUZZ A return to Ritchie’s signature world of sharp-tongued criminals and aristocratic betrayals. Details remain under wraps, but with an all-star British cast and Ritchie at the helm, expect strong pre-sales and a possible bidding war.
SALES Black Bear
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