London, UK (February 15, 2024) – Newcomers Summer H. Howell (Curse of Chucky) and Sarah-Maxine Racicot star alongside Michael Wittenborn (Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front) and Greg Bryk (Saw V, Saw 3D) in the haunting coming-of-age thriller, Spirit in the Blood. The film is written and directed by Hamburg-based Canadian filmmaker C. May Borgstrom in her feature film debut.
After a young girl is found dead in a secluded religious mountain community, a pack of teenage girls decide to fight against the evil spirits they believe killed her by embracing their own dark nature.
Formerly known under the working title Desire of the Prey, Spirit in the Blood is an ambitious Germany-Canada co-production produced by Hamburg based Verena Gräfe-Höft (Pelican Blood) for Junafilm, and Noah Segal (Infinity Pool) for Elevation Pictures. The picture was executive produced by George Hamilton, James Pugh and Janina Vilsmaier for Protagonist Pictures and the company will launch sales at the upcoming European Film Market. Executive Producers for Logical Pictures are Frédéric Fiore, Céline
Dornier, Pascal Hostachy & Louis Ladreyt, and Christina Piovesan, Laurie May, Emily Kulasa & Adrian Love serve as executive producers for Elevation Pictures.
The film is produced in association with Logical Content Ventures, in co-production with NDR in collaboration with ARTE and produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, MOIN – Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, the German Federal Goverment Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Ontario Creates, the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), Creative Europe Programme – MEDIA of the European Union and Crave.
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About Junafilm:
As one of the most awarded independent production companies in Germany, JUNAFILM is actively committed to creating both standout feature film productions and high-quality international co-productions. The company’s credits include two multiple award-winning features written and directed by Emmy-winning director Katrin Gebbe; PELICAN BLOOD starring Nina Hoss (PELIKANBLUT, Berlinale Co-Production Market 2018), which premiered in Orizzonti at Venice in 2019, and NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN (TORE TANZT), which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2013; as well as SLEEP (SCHLAF) by Michael Venus starring Gro Swantje Kohlhof and Oscar-nominated actress Sandra Hüller, which premiered in Perspektive Deutsches Kino at the Berlinale in 2020 to critical acclaim.
About Elevation Pictures
Founded in 2013, Elevation Pictures has become one of Canada’s leading entertainment companies specializing in distribution and production. Elevation’s past production projects include Golden Globe Nominated French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer; Alice Darling starring Anna Kendrick; Infinity Pool starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard; and A Good Person starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman.
The distribution arm is best known for releasing The Imitation Game, Room, The Father, and Moonlight, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Brother, and BlackBerry. Most recent releases include Anatomy of A Fall, Past Lives, and The Zone of Interest. For more information, please visit elevationpictures.com
About Protagonist Pictures
Protagonist Pictures is a sales, finance, and production company with a proven track record in outstanding films and commercial successes. Based in the UK, the company handles films from around the world, always maintaining a strong focus on filmmakers with exceptional vision and storytelling skills. Protagonist Pictures has championed ground-breaking filmmakers since its inception, including Chloe Zhao, Joanna Hogg, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sean Baker, Rose Glass, Taiki Waititi and Pawel Pawlikowski.
Recent titles executive produced by Protagonist Pictures include Sundance and Berlin film festival selection The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan and Paapa Essiedu, Thordur Palsson’s elevated horror The Damned, starring Odessa Young and Joe Cole and the ensemble comedy Rumours, directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, led by Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander.
The company is also currently representing international rights for David and Nathan Zellner’s Sasquatch Sunset, starring Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg, which premiered in Sundance and is set to premiere in Berlin; the delightful comedy Summer Camp, with Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard and Eugene Levy; the edge of your seat thriller Berlin Nobody, with Eric Bana and Sadie Sink; the evocative coming of age thriller Spirit in the Blood from C. May Borgstrom; Nick Moore’s romcom This Time Next Year, adapted from the NYT bestseller, and starring Lucien Laviscount and Sophie Cookson. The slate also includes Christopher Smith’s high concept horror comedy Spider Island (launched at AFM 2023), and Eli Craig’s highly anticipated horror adaptation, Clown in a Cornfield.
For more information, visit https://protagonistpictures.com/
PR via Maxine Leonard PR