John Jarratt, currently in production on “Wolf Creek 3,” heads the cast of “Shed,” the marquee title on genre sales company Black Mandala‘s Cannes Film Market slate, which the company will present alongside its sub-label Red Owl.
Directed by Steven J. Mihaljevich, “Shed” is set on Christmas Eve, when a ten-year-old girl accidentally locked in a farm shed during a game of hide-and-seek must hold out as a violent intruder carries out a murderous rampage on the property. The cast also includes Jason Robert Lester and Mani Shanks.
The remaining three Black Mandala titles cover distinct genre territory. Heixan Robles’ “Borealis” is a dystopian sci-fi in which a woman pursues her missing daughter across a fractured society after a solar flare erases all human memory. Mauro Iván Ojeda’s “A Mother’s Recall,” a Latin American horror, follows two children in a new household who uncover a malevolent presence feeding on the family’s secrets. Ben Peyser’s “Hollywood Hells,” starring Fernanda Romero and Brian Austin Green, centers on a struggling actress who discovers that a secretive circle of industry insiders has been producing real-life snuff films.
Red Owl contributes five titles to the joint presentation. Lucas Nicotti’s “Hotline” is set in 1980s Buenos Aires, where a woman leading a double life as a cabaret dancer and telephone hotline operator finds her two worlds colliding as the calls take an increasingly sinister turn. Carlos Marbán’s “The Photographer” follows a young post-mortem photographer dispatched to a remote orphanage in northern Spain, where she uncovers a supernatural secret concealed within its walls. Douglas Luciuk’s “Welcome to Kittytown” offers a darkly comic survival story set in a disease-ridden post-apocalyptic wasteland. Perica Rai’s “It Was a Beautiful Day” takes four longtime friends on a reconciliation trip to the Slovenian mountains that turns menacing after an encounter with a local family. Sean Cronin’s “Boogieville” rounds out the slate, following a couple on the run who take refuge in a derelict trailer park that turns out to be home to a vicious vampire clan.
“We are very proud of this year’s lineup,” said Michael Kraetzer of Black Mandala. “Each of these films brings something unique to the market. They are bold, cinematic, and outstanding genre titles with strong commercial potential. Cannes is the perfect place to introduce them to buyers, platforms, and festival programmers from around the world.”
