Nikias Chryssos‘ English-language horror film “Bloody Tennis” has secured several international deals, including to Shudder in the U.S., ahead of its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.
The other deals are for Australia (Umbrella Entertainment), Baltics (BestFilm.eu), Italy (Plaion Pictures), Japan (Extreme Film), Poland (9th Plan), and Scandinavia (Njutafilms).
U.S. rights were handled by CAA on behalf of Augenschein Sales, while Augenschein Sales sold the Australian rights directly. The Playmaker Munich closed the deals for Poland, the Baltics, Japan, Scandinavia and Italy on behalf of Augenschein Sales, and is handling the remaining open territories.
“Bloody Tennis” stars Sandra Guldberg Kampp (“Foundation”), Golden Globe nominee Helena Zengel (“News of the World,” “The Legend of Ochi”), Tracy Gotoas (“Safe House”), Lucie Zhang (“Paris,” “13th District”), Lily Taieb (“The French Dispatch,” “Bergman Island”), Elina Löwensohn (“Schindler’s List”) and Zlatko Burić (“Triangle of Sadness”).
The score is by Jim Williams, known for “Titane,” “Raw” and “Possessor.”
The film takes the world of elite sports to disturbing new extremes, filled with brutal ambition, blood-sucking leeches and hard-hitting serves. After being admitted to an elite tennis academy hidden deep in Southern Europe, Sophie (Guldberg Kampp) must contend not only with the fierce brutality of her teammates but with the school’s increasingly sinister undercurrents, where competitive sports are taken to their painful limits and only the hungriest survive.
The film is produced by Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo (“The Weight,” “The Assessment,” “Mother Mary”) of Augenschein in co-production with Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion and ZDF. The film was shot in Gran Canaria, Spain and NRW, Germany, with Volcano Films having rendered the Spanish production services. The production was supported by Film-und Medienstiftung NRW and German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) as well as the tax incentive program of the Canary Islands. The German distributor will be Port au Prince. Its first release is set for the U.S. via Shudder.
Adam Koehler, director, acquisitions and productions at IFC Entertainment Group, said, “ ‘Bloody Tennis’ serves up an unexpectedly wild ride that will keep viewers exhilarated from start to finish. Distinctive, elegant, and gleefully offbeat, it’s exactly the kind of bold, boundary-pushing horror we strive to champion at Shudder. We’re thrilled to give this unforgettable film a home on our platform.”
Sylvia Edelmann, head of sales at The Playmaker Munich, said the world premiere in Locarno will give the film “the attention it deserves and help us showcase it to buyers in the remaining open territories.”
Katzenstein said, “After years of hard work, we’re incredibly excited to finally bring ‘Bloody Tennis’ to audiences with its world premiere in Locarno. This film would not exist without the extraordinary vision of Nikias, our wonderful cast and the dedication of everyone involved. Knowing that it has already found partners in so many territories—and that it will begin its journey with Shudder in North America—makes this moment even more special. We can’t wait for audiences to finally enter the strange and unsettling world we have created together.”
Chryssos is an alumnus of the Résidence du Festival de Cannes, the Berlinale Talents, the Saatchi & Saatchi New German Directors Showcase and the Masterclass “The Hollywood Perspective” at UCLA.
In 2012, he founded the production company Kataskop Film, and produced and directed his first feature film, “Der Bunker,” in co-production with Geißendörfer Film, which premiered at the 65th Berlin Intl. Film Festival, and won the Next Wave Award for best feature at Fantastic Fest in Austin. His second feature film, “A Pure Place,” was developed in the Résidence du Festival de Cannes, and premiered at the Munich Film Festival, where it won the award for best director.
