Red & Black Films Launching Don’t Knock Twice At Cannes
Red & Black Films is run by the multi award winning team behind ‘The Machine’ Caradog James (Writer/Director) and John Giwa-Amu (Producer). Their indie-hit ‘The Machine’ sold out internationally in 2013. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and played in premier festivals all over the world. It was number 2 in the UK iTunes Chart and number 5 in the US iTunes Chart and had the dubious distinction of being the most illegally downloaded movie in the world in its first week of theatrical release. The distribution campaign for The Machine was financed by Red & Black Films, Altara and Film Cymru Wales, partnered with Content, AR PR and Incite. The distribution and marketing campaign was so successful that it won a Screen Award.
A supernatural horror called ‘Don’t Knock Twice’ is the duo’s new collaboration. It has its market premier in Cannes this week and stars Lucy Boynton (Sing Street, Rebel in the Rye), Katee Sackhoff (Oculus, Riddick) and Nick Moran (Lock Stock). The film was 100% financed from the company’s home territory Wales, with partners including Ffilm Cymru Wales, Pinewood Pictures, Welsh Government and Altara. After the success of ‘The Machine’ Content Media will team up again to handle international Sales.
Since ‘The Machine’s’ success the company have engaged in rapidly expanding body of work. NBC Universal picked up the film to become a TV series last year with the project announced by Universal in Comicon.
‘The Silent Storm’ Co-Produced by Red & Black Films stars Damian Lewis and Andrea Riseborough and is released in theatres in May. International sales by Westend and Sony Pictures, co-produced with Neon Films, The British Film Company, Film Cymru Wales, Corniche, HW Buffalo & Co, New Sparta and Barbara Broccoli’s Eon Films.
Also in cinemas this year is Red & Black Film’s ‘The Call Up’, a high-concept Sci-Fi about augmented reality. It was financed by Creative England, Pont Neuf and Marzipan and is being sold by Altitude. It premiered last month in Belgium’s BIFFF and enjoyed brilliant reviews after its UK premier last Friday as closing film of Sci-Fi London.
Next up on Red & Black Films’ slate is a star driven Sci-Fi thriller about time travel called ‘Hindsight’. The film will be directed by Caradog and produced by John. The film will move into production in 2017 and will be pitched to selected financiers during this year’s Cannes Market.
Caradog stock as a director is rapidly rising having been commissioned by Skydance (Terminator, Mission Impossible, World War Z) to write and direct a new major motion picture as well as being attached to direct another studio picture at Warner Bros.
John has been selected to become part of the globally recognised production and financing initiative ‘Inside Pictures’ 2016/17 and will travel to LA with the course in September to be mentored by various studio and funding executives. Screen has named John as one of the industry’s Future Leaders and he’s also been honoured as one of the BFI’s Breakthrough Brits.
Supported by Film Cymru Wales, Red & Black Films are in the process of investing into a range of elevated material across film, Virtual Reality and TV. They intend to bring the same quality and ambition to both small screen and emerging VR formats which the duo are very excited about for the coming year.
Together the partnership have won a raft of awards including 6 Welsh BAFTAs, a BIFA, a Screen Award, as well as winning Best Picture awards at Raindance, Cartagena, and Toronto After Dark. Their films have garnered glowing reviews and received nominations at The Moscow Film festival and premier festivals around the world.
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