EXCLUSIVE: South Korea’s Showbox has landed international sales rights to Sleep No More, the upcoming body horror feature from Indonesian filmmaker Edwin, and will begin talks at the Cannes market.
It marks a significant step for the company in expanding its slate beyond Korea, representing Showbox’s first title directly solely by an Indonesian filmmaker and produced by an Indonesian outfit (it previously handled Indonesian-language film The Verdict but this was produced and presented by Korean companies and co-directed by both Korean and Indonesian directors).
Sleep No More marks the latest feature from Edwin, who became the first director from Indonesia to win the Golden Leopard at Locarno in 2021 with comedy-drama Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash. He is also known for Postcards From The Zoo, which played in competition at the Berlinale and Tribeca in 2012, while crime thriller Borderless Fog debuted on Netflix last year.
The story centres on two sisters dealing with the sudden death of their mother at a wig factory. One believes it was suicide while the other is certain it was a result of possession and takes a job at the factory to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, their brother - born with an eerie gift to regenerate his own body - catches the attention of a ghostly figure roaming the factory, searching for a vessel to inhabit.
The cast is led by Rachel Amanda from Stealing Raden Saleh, Lutesha of 13 Bombs and Iqbaal Ramadhan from Perayaan Mati Rasa.
Producers are Meiske Taurisia and Muhammad Zaidy of Indonesia’s Palari Films, and co-producers are Atsuko Ohno of Japan’s Hassaku Lab; Anthony Chen and Teoh Yi Peng of Singapore’s Giraffe Pictures; and Roshanak Behesht Nedjad of Germany’s In Good Company.
Showbox is the studio behind horror Exhuma, which ranked as the number one film at the South Korea box office in 2024 and took around $95m worldwide.
No comments yet