Screen presents 15 buzz projects from North American sellers available to international buyers at this year’s AFM.

'The Christophers'

Source: Neon International

‘The Christophers’

All Day & All Night

Dir. Tommy Wirkola
Josh Hartnett stars as a former bank robber returning to crime to fund his Harvard-bound daughter’s tuition, who stumbles onto the set of a failing reality TV show when the heist goes wrong. The project hails from XYZ Films’ high-end genre slate under recently appointed president of film Guy Danella, who collaborated with Wirkola while at 87North on Violent Night for Universal. XYZ Films holds worldwide rights, finances with its associate IPR.VC, and produces alongside Hartnett and Wirkola. Production is earmarked to start in 2026.
Contact: XYZ Films 

Bad Bridgets

Dir. Rich Peppiatt
Peppiatt returns after breaking out with Ireland’s 2025 Oscar submission Kneecap, with this 19th-century story set against the backdrop of the Irish famine. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Emilia Jones star as two sisters who plot their escape from poverty, hunger and an abusive father, and set their sights on America. Belfast-based producer Trevor Birney acquired the rights to the book Bad Bridget by Leanne McCormick and Elaine Farrell, which chronicles how a large number of Irish women were incarcerated after emigrating to the US and Canada. Coup d’Etat and LuckyChap are producing, and WME Independent represents US rights. Production is scheduled for spring 2026 in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Contact: FilmNation Entertainment 

The Beast

Dir. Renny Harlin
Samuel L Jackson and Joel Kinnaman are the leads in the original Cliffhanger director Harlin’s action thriller about an attempted coup that leaves the US president stuck inside his titular limousine. America’s leader must learn to control the impregnable vehicle and his own rage in order to save the country. WME Independent is screening The Beast at AFM. Harlin directed from a screenplay by Umair Aleem, and the producers are Peter Berg, Fifth Season, John Logan Pierson and Keith Kjarval.
Contact: WME Independent 

Buzzkill

Dir. Joe Lynch
Billy Magnussen and Lulu Wilson will star in the tale of a Texas town terrorised by a monster that can only be seen when the beholder is drunk. Lynch directs from a screenplay by Colin J McLaughlin, and The Veterans and Anonymous Content are producing. Cole Eckerle, Dane Eckerle, Magnussen, Jonathan Schwartz and Nick Shumaker serve as individual producers. AC Independent and UTA Independent Film Group jointly represent US rights.
Contact: The Veterans 

The Christophers

Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Neon has picked up worldwide rights to Soderbergh’s recent Toronto premiere, marking its second acquisition of a festival hit from the filmmaker in two years, after working on 2024 Sundance entry Presence. Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen, Jessica Gunning and James Corden star in the tale of the estranged adult children of a former celebrated artist, who hire a forger to complete some of his unfinished canvasses in order to bolster their inheritance. Department M financed The Christophers and produced with Butler & Sklar Productions.
Contact: Neon International 

Frequency Of Fear

Dir. Danny A. Abeckaser
The story behind the secret 2024 Israeli operation to detonate thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies in the hands of Hezbollah members is getting the feature treatment. The cast includes actors from the Israeli spy series Fauda — Doron Ben-David, Itzik Cohen and Marina Maximilian — as well as Quentin Tarantino’s wife, Daniella Pick Tarantino. Bleiberg Entertainment handles worldwide rights on Frequency Of Fear and reported heavy interest from streamers and theatrical buyers. The film is in post.
Contact: Ehud Bleiberg,Bleiberg Entertainment 

John Rambo

Dir. Jalmari Helander
Helen Lee Kim and the Lionsgate International team are introducing buyers to the origin story of John Rambo, the character immortalised by Sylvester Stallone in 1982’s First Blood and its sequels. Finland’s Helander (Sisu) is directing from a screenplay by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, with Noah Centineo in final negotiations to play the lead. Millennium Media and Templeton Media are producing with AGBO co-founders Anthony and Joe Russo. Production is expected to start in early 2026 in Thailand.
Contact: Lionsgate International 

King Snake

Dir. Jeff Nichols
The Bikeriders and Loving director Nichols turns his focus to Southern Gothic horror, as a couple inherit a farm in Arkansas and are thrust into battle with demons both internal and external. Margaret Qualley and Drew Starkey play the ill-fated pair, alongside Michael Shannon. FilmNation is financing the project. Nichols and his Tri-State Pictures partners Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sarah Green are producing in association with Range Media Partners.
Contact: FilmNation Entertainment 

Phantom Son

Dir. David Yates
Renée Zellweger will star in Harry Potter franchise director Yates’ psycho­logical thriller about a lonely woman who takes in a runaway and becomes convinced he is her long-lost son. Additional casting is underway and production is set to start in Q1 2026. AGC Studios is fully financing and co-produces with Big Picture Co, the label run by Zellweger and Carmella Casinelli that developed the project. AGC represents worldwide sales with CAA Media Finance.
Contact: AGC International 

Reenactment

Dir. Grant Singer
Benicio del Toro and Cameron Diaz will star in the mysterious project for Black Label and 193, the joint venture from Patrick Wachsberger and Legendary. Music video director Singer collaborated with del Toro on his feature directorial debut and 2023 Toronto premiere Reptile. Production is scheduled to begin soon in Los Angeles.
Contact: Charlotte Humbert, 193 

River

Dir. Joshua Giuliano
Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Dane Di­Liegro and Max Mattern star in this Shudder original production from first-time filmmaker Giuliano. Upgrade will show international buyers a promo for the horror film, which is in post-production and centres on three estranged siblings who reunite to scatter their father’s ashes by a river. The trio must set aside their differences after their boat breaks down and they find themselves stalked by a ruthless killer. Steven Schneider from the Insidious franchise is producing for Spooky Pictures with Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund from Eat the Cat. Independent Film Company and Shudder will release in the US.
Contact: Upgrade 

Stratagem

Dir. Michael Idov
Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo will star in the spy action thriller about a CIA agent who goes undercover to seduce and recruit a tech savant at a cybersecurity summit in the Swiss Alps. But the target turns out to be a master manipulator with secrets. David Lancaster is producing for Rumble Films with Matt Leipzig, and the producers are lining up a start of production for Q1 2026. Idov and writing partner Lily Idov penned Kirill Serebrennikov’s 2018 Cannes Competition entry Leto.
Contact: Highland Film Group 

That Time We Met

Dir. Nick Lieberman
Pete Davidson and Ella Purnell will star in this romantic comedy about a new couple who detest each other after their first date but learn their unborn child is destined to save the future of humanity. Mitchell Winkie wrote the screenplay and the producers are Matt Jackson and Joanne Lee from Jackson Pictures, Marc Platt, Adam Siegel and Katie McNicol from Marc Platt Productions, and Ford Corbett and Nathan Klingher from Gramercy Park Media.
Contact: WME Independent 

Tumor

Dir. Will Bridges
Sam Rockwell stars in a psycho­logical thriller alongside Maisy Stella, who had a breakout role opposite Aubrey Plaza in 2024 Sundance selection My Old Ass. Stay Gold Features is producing the film about a low-level private investigator searching for a wealthy politico’s missing daughter while suffering the disruptive effects of a late-stage tumour. The project is adapted from the graphic novel by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon. UTA Independent Film Group and WME Independent jointly represent US rights.
Contact: AGC International 

The Young People

Dir. Osgood Perkins
Neon’s muse Perkins has delivered the company’s biggest hit, 2024’s Longlegs, as well as 2025 horror title The Monkey and Keeper (released on November 14). The parties reunite on The Young People, about which little is known except that production began last month in Vancouver with Lola Tung, Nico Parker, Cush Jumbo, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville and Tatiana Maslany among the cast. Phobos and Range are producing, with Neon and Lyrical Media co-financing. Neon International soft-launched The Young People in Toronto and begins negotiations in earnest here at AFM.
Contact: Neon International

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