Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has pacted with TelevisaUnivision-affiliated Videocine to handle the international sales on horror pic “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone” by Emilio Portes (“Belzebuth,” “Pastorela”).
Among the leading distribution and production companies in Mexico, Videocine has slated the high concept pic’s theatrical release for the second quarter of this year, said FilmSharks CEO-founder Guido Rud, who announced the deal at Berlinale’s EFM, among other pacts. Videocine retains North and South American rights.
“We are thrilled to continue collaborating with Videocine’s incredible team after so many years,” said Rud who has handled other Videocine horror titles such as “Karem, the Possession,” “Come Play with Me” and “El habitante.”
“We’ve long been admirers of the director’s previous work,” he noted, adding: “’Don’t Leave the Kids Alone’ is a masterfully crafted gem in its genre, with a narrative scope that rivals the best work of top-tier U.S. directors in recent years.”
Starring Ana Serradilla (“My Best Friend’s Wedding”) and Jose Sefami (“Amores Perros”), the ‘80s-set genre pic centers on recently widowed Catalina and her two boys, ages seven and 10. One night she leaves them alone for a work-related event. They set out to unpack their prized video game console, unaware that something sinister is making them turn against each other.
The film had its world premiere at the 54th Rotterdam Int’l Film Fest in early February.
In his director’s statement, Portes remarked that although “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone” is a horror film, it was also “a very personal journey back to our childhood.”
“The film takes us back to an analog era with telephone landlines and no internet: to experience the adventure of being left alone one night, without adult supervision, having the house to ourselves, to watch horror movies in secret, digging out the forbidden board games, playing with the primal video games consoles, running around barefoot, ordering delivery pizzas, drinking supersize sodas and letting our imagination run wild, but especially our scariest nightmares,” he mused.
This is Portes’ fifth film where he also sought to delve into “the rivalries among siblings, their unbreakable bonds, the impulsive fantasies of becoming an only child.”
Portes’ 2020 pic “Belzebuth,” a Mexican border-set thriller about infanticide, was a critical and box office hit. It streamed on Shudder where it was the fifth most watched film that year.
FilmSharks recently announced a raft of new distribution deals for Argentine animated pic “Dalia and the Red Book” at EFM, including with Vision Films for North America. Talks are underway for the U.K., France, Korea, China, Italy and Scandinavia.
