Eugene The Marine

Source: Graham Avenue Productions

‘Eugene The Marine’

EXCLUSIVE: The Pool Films has unveiled its first sales slate as the new Paris-based company heads to its first market at AFM after officially launching in September.

Set up by former Pulsar Content co-founder Gilles Sousa and producer Tim Belda, and backed by VFX powerhouse Digital District Group and Victorine Studios in Nice, France, The Pool’s inaugural sales slate is focused on elevated genre films, led by Hank Bedford’s Eugene The Marine starring Scott Glenn as a former marine faced with a series of gruesome murders targeting the people around him.

Produced by Graham Avenue Productions, the English-language horror thriller is getting a market screening at AFM and also stars Jim Gaffigan, Annette O’Toole and Shioli Kutsuna.

The Pool also revealed a first look for AFM buyers at Graham Guit’s dark comedy horror Stronger Than The Devil starring Melvil Poupaud (Laurence Anyways) and Asia Argento. 

Further titles on the slate include Xavier Terra’s coming-of-age drama AO, about a group of friends on spring break in Okinawa whose lives take an unexpected turn when they meet a young teenager whose American father is accused of a crime. Producers are Stella Savino for Mia Film, Janie Chartier for Twin Brains and Jeremy O’Harris and Josh Godfrey for BB2; the film is in production.

The Swarm co-writer Franck Victor makes his feature debut with horror Gwladys Rising starring Raika Hazanavicius as a girl with telekinetic powers who falls for the charismatic leader of a band of outsiders. Producers are France’s Diabolo Films, Luxembourg’s Skill Lab and Belgium’s Sequel Prod. The film is in pre-production and expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Ornella’s Earl Grey, now in post, stars Kim Higelin (The Consent) as a 23-year-old woman with suicidal intentions who ends up on an unexpected odyssey across London. Elsa Zylberstein, Oscar Lesage and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers co-star in the film produced by Master Movie.

Further plans

In addition to its sales slate, The Pool Films is also focused on luring international productions to France with a one-stop-shop offer that also incorporates financing, co-production, post-production and studio location.

“In a market that is increasingly difficult, we can optimise production by bringing in pre-sales, post-production services and VFX that can fill in gap financing,” Sousa explained.

Among its offerings are the country’s current tax rebate of 40% for VFX work completed in France, Victorine Studios as a place to shoot (the facility is being revamped as part of the French government’s France 2030 plan), and Digital District’s VFX expertise with the company having done effects work for films including The Artist, Phantom Thread, Cedric Jimenez’s Dog 51, and Netflix hits Under Paris and Lupin.

“Beyond sales, we package projects early and bring together co-producers, financiers and talent, then craft bespoke, out-of-the-box marketing from the pre-production stage to spark buyer interest,” Sousa said.

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