Independent film and television distributor Alchemy has acquired the North American distribution rights to Lucile Hadzihalilovic's EVOLUTION, a French-language horror film that is currently making the festival rounds.
Written by Hadzihalilovic, Alanté Kavaïté, and Geoff Cox, EVOLUTION centers on
Nicolas, a 10-year-old boy who lives with his mother in a village on a remote island inhabited solely by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a mysterious medical treatment. Only Nicolas questions what is happening around him. He senses that his mother is lying to him, and is determined to find out what she does with the other women at night, on the beach. What he discovers is the beginning of a nightmare into which he is helplessly drawn.
Max Brebant, Roxane Duran, and Julie-Marie Parmentier star in the film, and it's also worth mentioning that the cinematographer was Manu Dacosse, who shot the modern giallos AMER and THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS.
Lensed in Lanzarote and Barcelona, Spain, EVOLUTION was a French/Spanish/Belgian co-production, produced by Les Films du Worso's Sylvie Pialat and Benoît Quainon, Noodles Production's Jérôme Vidal, Volcano Films' Sebastian Alvarez, Scope Pictures' Geneviève Lemal, and Left Field Ventures' John Engel.
I really have no idea what to expect from this one, but the synopsis does make it sound interesting. Alchemy's EVP of Marketing, Brooke Ford, describes it as "a distinctive and extraordinary film that is beautiful, unsettling, and ultimately as terrifying as anything I’ve ever seen." We'll keep you informed as more is revealed.
Julie-Marie Parmentier