Anouk Whissell’s “Holi Womb,” Talal Selhami’s “The Shelter” and Hannes Baumgartner’s “Insect World” bid fair to prove standouts at Fantasia’s 2025 Frontières Co-Production Market, one of the world’s biggest, widest-ranging and highest caliber genre project platforms.
“Holi Womb” reps a potential first solo writer-director outing for Whissell who shot to fame as part of Canadian filmmaking trio RKSS, behind cult sci-fi hit “Turbo Kid.” Brother Yoann-Karl Whissell, another RKSS member, is stepping into the producer role for the first time.
With “Succession” star Haim Abbas on board to play the lead role of Leila, a Syrian Civil War refugee, “The Shelter” looks like a big step up for Selhami in market potential after head-turning Moroccan creature feature “Achoura.” Sophia Menni produces at prestigious Moroccan production house La Prod.
“Insect Empire” unites some of Switzerland’s finest: director Hannes Baumgartner after breakout debut “The Midnight Runner,” Zurich-based 8horses (“Soul of a Beast”) and producers Michela Pini (“La Chimera”) and Simon Jacquemet, better known as a director (“Electric Child”).
“Is This You” is set up at Chemically Altered Productions (“13 Reasons Why,” “The OA,” “Within”) and SpectreVision Management, the management arm of the SpectreVision, co-led by Elijah Wood.
There is also good word on Biz Crummett’s 2024 Sitges Fan Pitch Award winner “Delia’s Ghost” and Brazilian creature feature “Shallow Hell,” reportedly a powerful tale about greed, rooted in Brazilian culture, as Frontières welcomes projects from Brazil, Czech Republic, Morocco, Tunisia, Japan and Venezuela. That is unprecedented, says Frontières Executive Director Annick Mahnert.
In other ways, Frontières Co-Production Market takes the pulse of genre worldwide. Submissions are 10% up on 2024. “I think the number has gone up because there are more projects out in the world,” says Mahnert. “The demand is higher and the creativity is boosted. Filmmakers have realized that project markets are actually beneficial, not only to find partners but also to network and get to know the players. And there seems to be a buzz about Frontières among the younger filmmakers,” she adds.
There’s also a huge drive for originality, for movies which are genre blenders, benders or flippers.
“‘They Echo’ has a classic haunted house set-up, but is developed from the perspective of a Black queer disabled woman who is the child of African immigrants,” says director Lu Astafa of one Frontières project.
Likewise, in satirical horror “How Dare You,” “we use the genre to flip the expectations of horror by centering queer characters as our heroes and presenting the hetero-normative normality as objects of fear,” says co-writer/director Kit Redstone.
In “Shallow Hell,” miners have to feed a monster human body parts for it to regurgitate gold. “This opens the door for us to create characters with more agency and explore fresh conflicts within the monster genre, beyond just surviving,” notes writer-director Rafael Toledo.
Many projects tap into the zeitgeist. “In a post-COVID era, people struggle with isolation, disconnection and a growing uncertainty about the meaning of life. The story of ‘The Sleepless Girl’ reflects that crisis,” notes director François Chang.
All projects are about something, some are highly personal. “From what I see, we have moved away from the ‘classic’ genre such as ‘just’ horror or fantasy,” Mahnert observes. “The stories are wilder, mix more genres, dare more than in the past. There are no longer limitations, imagination-wise and technical-wise, to what a film can be. I also feel like there are more and more personal stories being told. It’s no longer about doing a genre film; it’s about telling a story that means something personal to a filmmaker.”
The Frontières Co-Production Market runs July 23-26, in conjunction with Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival.
Here’s a closer look at titles selected for 2025’s Frontières Official Selection, plus its Shorts to Feature and Genre Film Lab Strands.
Official Selection
“The Ballad of Tita and the Machines,” (Miguel Angel Caballero, U.S., Brazil, Mexico)
AI humanoids are replacing human laborers, but 60-year-old strawberry picker Tita refuses to be erased. Her quiet rebellion erupts into a viral citywide strike and a daring heist. A potential AI pushback feature crowdpleaser from Caballero and co-writer Luis Antonio Aldana, two queer Mexican-American/Chicano filmmakers, building on their same-titled short, a highly successful 2023 L.A. Outfest Audience Award winner of the same name.
The Ballad of Tita and the Machines
“Delia’s Ghost,” (Biz Crummett, New Zealand)
Eddy, the bitter ghost of a 1979 punk, stuck in the house where he died, finds a purpose in afterlife when 10-year-old Cordelia moves in and enlists his aid to confront her soul-ensnaring spectre Headmaster. A 2024 Sitges Fan Pitch Award winner now rapidly attracting industry partners, “it’s a deeply human story about transformation through connection. We don’t heal in isolation,” says producer Belindalee Hope at Wellington’s Be Hope Films.
“Feed,” (Jennie Leigh Reed, U.S.)
From Peer Phok’s L.A. and New York-based Phok Productions. Violet narrowly avoids being hit by a truck when Lidia, a server from the cult favorite restaurant Rosemary’s, pulls her out of danger. Violet takes a job at Rosemary’s, but can’t find Lidia. One good reason: Lidia isn’t missing, she’s on the menu. Psychological body horror, says Phok, “Feed” has “a clear cause at its core, exposing the hidden abuses and unchecked power behind the restaurant industry’s polished image.”
Feed
“Fiebre Caribe,” (Diego Andrés Murillo, Venezuela, Colombia)
Formally ambitious, potentially popular, “‘Fiebre Caribe’ stands out not only as a blood-soaked travelog thriller moving from the cold North American winter to the South Caribbean, but as an immersion into Venezuelan colonial/modern history, cannibalism, haunting digital worlds and the search for a mirroring identity in the other,” says producer Eduardo Díaz. Set up at Fantasma, based in NYC, Caracas and Buenos Aires, now joined by Discordia.
“Funky Forest: The Second Contact,” (U.K.)
Produced by London’s U.K-based Third Window Films and now in pre-production, a resurrection of the 2005 cult classic with a second movie reuniting the original screenwriter-directors Katsuhito Ishii, Shunichiro Miki and Hajime ‘Aniki’ Ishimine. Described by producer Adam Torel as a “surrealist fantasy sci-fi comedy. We would like to challenge ourselves to create a new film genre called ‘Funky Forest,’” Shunichiro Miki tells Variety.
Funky Forest: The Second Contact
“Fur,” (Brad Abrahams, U.S., Canada)
Described as “fantastical romantic horror,” the “loosely true” 1924 tale of Albert Ostman, a panner abducted by a Sasquatch and taken to a cave shared by his mate and daughter. “At its core, the film examines masculinity and sexuality under pressure and the quiet horror of wanting something truly other. It explores how isolation distorts perception, and how captivity, dependency and desire blur together when you have no one left and nowhere else to go,” says Abrahams. Written by Joslyn Jensen.
“Grey Mountain,” Jeremy Holm, U.S.)
Exiled to a strange mountain after his wife is killed and his child taken from him, a budding scientist’s memories of the past and future haunt him as researchers question him about his claims of alien abduction. From a story by producer Christopher Kelly and Holm, directed and starring Holm. “This story holds in it the seeds of truth and history and the terror of the modern world,” Holm says.
“The Halfway House,” (Mia’Kate Russell, Australia)
Recently out of rehab, Greta tries to rebuild her life and regain custody of her son after escaping an abusive relationship. Then frightening events begin to unfold at the safe house she’s been placed in. “An urgent exploration of the destructive nature of violence against women and children that remain entrenched in Australia and beyond,” says Russell (“Penny Lane is Dead”). Produced by Buffalo Media.
“Holi Womb,” (Anouk Whissell, Canada)
Eagerly awaited, developed at TorinoFilmLab and backed by Telefilm Canada, in it a mother-to-be begins investigating the truth behind her Polish retreat for single mothers: dark rituals performed by the retreat’s staff – a coven of ill turned szeptuchas. “‘Holi Womb’ is a smart horror and haunting fever dream that will have its audience entertained and cheering for its protagonist as she fights her way out of hell,” Whissell promises.
Holi Womb
“How Dare You,” (Kit & Arran, Canada)
Prince and his queer iconoclastic friends move to a house to the country after the deaths of its owners, the ultra-conservative Hart family. As his friends begin acting like Hart family members, Prince doesn’t believe they’re being possessed – until it’s too late. Kit & Arran (Kit Redstone, Arran Shearing), behind 2024 Rotterdam hit “King Baby,” write and direct.
“Insect Empire,” (Hannes Baumgartner, Switzerland)
A successful microbiologist, Selma‘s body takes on insect-like features as she begins to yearn for roots and dirt, her awakening animalistic self questioning the foundations of her well-ordered life. “A lo-fi fantasy tale that explores the clash between modern society and otherness through the eyes of an insect-human critter,” says helmer Baumgartner.
“Is This You,” (Kaitlin Fontana, U.S., Canada)
A 2024 Black List title: When Jeanne publishes essays about her troubled daughter Maura’s teen years, those versions of her appear like hormone-fuelled poltergeists. “A dark comedy with horror elements. The kind of film mothers and daughters will see themselves in, be horrified by, and laugh deeply at, says Fontana, Sundance-selected for “Francesca,” and a writer-producer on acclaimed broadcast “Peter And the Acid King.”
“Liminal,” (Noomi Yates, U.K.)
Set up at EP:IK Pictures, and billed as “dystopian analogue horror, “Liminal” turns on influencer Sam whose twin vanishes mid-livestream. Sam’s search leads him into a digital nightmare, where he must constantly film himself to survive. “Liminal explores our dependency on technology and how that warps our sense of self,” says writer-director Yates.
“Le Majestic,” (Karl Lemieux, Canada)
Sébastien Judet, a reputable geologist, accepts a position at a modest museum of natural history and falls under the spell of the museum’s enigmatic director, Madame Élisabeth Vial, under whose influence, he descends into sensual and psychological trance. “The film questions power dynamics, the museum’s role as an institution of authority and the possibility of emancipation through submission,” says producer Sylvain Corbeil at Quebec-based Metafilms, behind Xavier Dolan’s “Mommy.”
“Mystery of the Mothman,” (Austin Birtch, U.S.)
Exec produced by Steven Kostanski (“Deathstalker”), a Vietnam deserter returns to Point Pleasant, West Virginia after a tragic bridge collapse, to be pulled into a “vast and insidious conspiracy” surrounding a red-eyed, winged creature. This “is the dark-Amblin creature feature I’ve dreamed of making for decades, set in a Stephen King-inspired small town wrapped in Appalachian skin,” says Birtch (“Giant Skeleton”), an associate producer on IFC/Shudder release “In a Violent Nature.”
Mystery of the Mothman
Courtesy of Austin Birtch
“Ostrich Boy,” (Ricardo Bonisoli, Canada)
Marked by a mysterious facial condition known as “Ostrich Syndrome,” a teen outcast seeks acceptance in the underground world of an eccentric race walking troupe. Presented at the Cannes 2024 Frontières Platform and now gaining industry structure, set up at Vancouver’s Rooster Films, headed by the film’s director and writer Holly Pavlik, but now boarded by Toronto’s Gearshift Films, writer-producer Glen Morgan (“The Twilight Zone”) and star Jackson Kelly, seen in “The Pitt.”
Ostrich Boy
“Real Blood,” (Joeri Pruys, Netherlands)
From Dutch outfit Rainproof Media, which makes films about “themes that define the world we live in,” helmer-producer Pruys’s feature debut. In it, May, 23, a bold Black media artist, joins forces with radical white mentor Agnes (45) to secure a spot in a prestigious art show which involves staying awake for 11 days as a performance piece. She discovers – maybe too late –that she’s part of a twisted masterpiece orchestrated by a powerful artist.
“The Shelter,” (“Le Refuge,” Talal Selhami, Morocco, France)
The latest from Selhami, awarded at Sitges for fantasy film “Achoura,” and with Hiam Abbass now attached. Here, in Paris, Leila (Abbass), a former concert pianist from Aleppo, takes care of Georges, a former French diplomat now nearing the end of life. With his death beckoning, Leila begins to experience increasingly sinister ghostly visitations from her late husband and son as the echo of distant bombs returns and the walls between Georges’ apartment and Leila’s lost home begin to collapse.
“Shallow Hell,” (Rafael Toledo, Brazil)
Some miners discover a grotesque creature that regurgitates gold when fed human blood. Eyes, teeth, fingers lead to a bigger payment, making the miners turn against each other. Set up at Brazil’s Luck Business, behind Fantasia-selected “Blockbuster,” which has recently pacted with SFX artist Gergő Lengyel, winner of StanWinston Creature Making Contest, to bring the monster to life.
Shallow Hell
“The Sleeping Grotto,” (Kays Mejri, Canada, Tunisia)
At their remote childhood retreat, estranged brothers Youssef and Idris find their past catching up to them, its haunted secrets and violent history “as the past isn’t just repeating itself, but actively resurrecting,” the synopsis runs. “Rich with dramatic family narrative and supernatural overtones, this film transcends its setting to explore a mythological universe where time can bend and overlap,” says Tunisian-Canadian director Mejri.
“Wild Hunt,” (Marek Najbrt, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia)
17th-century Europe burns in war, but one village thrives after trading a baby to dark forces. Years later, the child returns, triggering paranoia and violence. Directed by Najbrt (“A Polski Film”), “a modernly narrated genre film that incorporate themes of Central European history and folklore,” say producers Jakub Koštál, a co-producer on “Runner,” Vratislav Šlajer, behind Austin Film Fest winner “Marty Is Dead,” and Jan Komasa, director of Tribeca winner “Hater.”
Wild Hunt
Shorts to Feature
“Child Uninvited,” (Mai Nakanishi, Japan, South Korea, Singapore)
Produced by Eun-Kyoung Lee and Tan Ai Leng, pic follows Soa, a pregnant Korean woman who relocates to Japan with her husband. When she opens her door to a hungry, latchkey child, buried childhood traumas resurface, and, as the child becomes threatening, force a harrowing moral choice. “Child Uninvited” “explores the psychological and emotional impact of maternal childhood trauma, while also uncovering the sociocultural fears and anxieties that lie beneath everyday life in Japan,” Nakanishi explains.
“Get Away,” (Michael Gabriele, Canada)
A meta horror-thriller whose proof of concept won Fantasia’s Gold Audience Award for best international short. Teen friends watch a disturbing VHS horror movie only to face a chilling truth: the victims are their future selves in a repeating nightmare, and the movie is pulling them in. “Ever yelled at a horror film screen, wishing you could warn the characters about their terrible choices? Now, imagine those characters are you, just 20 years older,” Gabriele teases.
“Make Me a Pizza,” (Talia Shea Levin)
A feature-length riff on viral 2024 SXSW cult-hit short, upping the horror. A hungry woman compulsively seduces pizza delivery men, unleashing at climax a pizza goddess’ power who reduces the men to primordial beasts. Written-directed by Shea Levin, pic “unravels the pizza delivery porn trope to explore desire, class and the divine in the sleaziest, goopiest way possible,” promise Shea Levin and producer Kara Grace Miller.
“Red Spider Lilies,” (Kosji Shiraishi, Japan)
30 years before, in a Japanese village, three sisters—marked as were forced to kill their parents to escape a cult-enforced family suicide. Now masters of black sorcery, they’re back for revenge. Following a 2024 short, “a story of generational scars, resilience, and justice delivered on one’s own terms,” says producer Tomomi Furuyama, selected among Asia’s 20 most promising producers by AFiS (Busan Asia Film School).
“The Sleepless Girl,” (François Chang, Taiwan)
From Flash Forward Entertainment, behind Karlovy Vary best directing winner “Pierce,” “Colored,” best immersive work at Cannes 2024 XR Competition and “Tiger Stripes,” a Grand Prix winner at Cannes ‘ 2023 Critics’ Week. Described as a sci-fi thriller mockumetary, a man, Fan, investigates a girl with mysterious insomnia who causes inexplicable disappearances around her. “‘The Sleepless Girl’ stands apart with its emotionally charged blend of fantasy and reality, tackling the post-pandemic psyche of youth lost in algorithmic worlds and AI idols,” says producer Patrick Mao Huang.
The Genre Film Lab
“After the End,” (Elena Sturk-Lussier, Canada)
Alone deep in the post-apocalyptic Canadian wilderness, a resourceful young woman readies for her first winter… until an unexpected danger soon arrives in the form of two starving and desperate men. “A bloody feminist revenge story with unnerving, edge of your seat tension, steeped in Canadiana, taking place in the confined and claustrophobic woods, and [with] whispers of ‘90s erotic thrillers, where sex and violence were one in the same,” Sturk-Lessier tells Variety. Winnipeg’s Familiar Films produces.
“Deepfake,” (Miranda MacDougall, Canada)
Violet, a deferential 30-something, discovers viral pornographic deepfakes of her circulating online. Her investigation ultimately leads her to Winnipeg, her hometown, and a betrayal closer than she ever imagined. Billed as a paranoid, psycho-sexual thriller, “it’s about consent, yes – but it’s also about authenticity and the slippery nature of artificial intelligence that begs the question: How do we know what is real?” asks producer Lucy McNulty.
“The Evermore,” (Mia Martinez, Canada)
Two estranged sisters are left by their absent father a farm after his passing. They discover a hidden pond called The Evermore, which possesses the gift of youth and healing. “A ravenous reimagining of the Fountain of Youth tale, blending creature horror, folklore and home invasion,” says Martínez. Produced by Vancouver’s Familiar Blue Films, founded in 2022 by partners Martinez and Jonathan George.
“Peachy,” (Sasha Duncan, Canada)
During summer break 16-year-old Audra and her friends fall under the spell of a magnetic local girl – only to discover she’s not just feeding their egos, she’s a succubus demon feeding on them. “It’s a sparkly, hot-pink and bloody bubblegum horror and really examines the complexities of female friendships in a way most films don’t by allowing its girls to be at turns vulnerable and ruthless.,” says writer-director Deacon.
“They Echo,” (Lu Astana, Canada)
To care for her dying mother, Trevi moves back to her childhood home, where her father took his life and her sister disappeared. Invaded by disturbing images, after strange and dangerous occurrences she begins to suspect there’s more to the house’s oppressive atmosphere than she initially thought. A BlueCat 2022 Feature Winner which scooped the Fellini Award for best international script, Women in the Director’s Chair 2024 Feature Film Award.
