UK-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has acquired worldwide rights to “Zero,” an action thriller directed by Jean Luc Herbulot, according to Variety exclusive report. Herbulot is known for his 2021 TIFF Midnight Madness selection “Saloum.”
“Zero” has been selected for the first wave of the Sitges Film Festival, with further festival announcements anticipated. The film’s plot revolves around two Americans who wake up in Senegal with explosive devices strapped to their bodies and a 10-hour deadline to discover why. Guided by a mysterious voice on the phone, they must complete a series of tasks that unintentionally wreak havoc in Dakar. Set against a backdrop of increasing anti-Western sentiment, the protagonists race against time for survival and redemption.
The screenplay for “Zero” was co-written by Herbulot and Hus Miller, with Miller also producing alongside Paméla Diop, Steven Adams, and Gary Dourdan. The cast features Miller, Cam McHarg, Moran Rosenblatt, Roger Sallah, and Dourdan.
Herbulot expressed his inspiration for the film: “I have always admired Sergio Leone’s Westerns, Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films, Jean Pierre Melville’s noirs, George Miller’s post-apocalyptic action and the Kim Jee-woon’s and Park Chan-wook’s of the filmic world — all strong ambassadors of a genre but also a continent or a country. I believe you can survey an entire country’s identity and mood by its best genre films and filmmakers.”
Mike Chapman of Blue Finch Films said, “After blowing audiences away with ‘Saloum,’ we are excited to be working with Jean Luc Herbulot on his newest vision – a visceral and kinetic thriller with a relevant political undercurrent. As soon as we saw a cut, we knew this was something special and we can’t wait for audiences to witness ‘Zero.’”
Blue Finch Films’ international portfolio also includes Sitges selections “Oddity,” which won SXSW 2024’s Midnighter Audience Award, and Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s thriller “Steppenwolf,” which was also featured at Rotterdam.
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