Short of the Week
Debut features, collaborations with famous directors, distribution deals – there’s a lot of exciting things happening for the filmmakers previously featured on Short of the Week. Eager to celebrate their success, this filmmaker updates post details all the recent announcements regarding new projects from our S/W alums.
With our alum base ever-expanding, we’re sure to have missed a few projects off this list, if there’s anything we’ve overlooked, let us know in the comments below.
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Maegan Houang working on new Panos Cosmatos script
Writer/director Maegan Houang first came to our attention through 2019 short In Full Bloom (above)
With the cult success of his previous feature, trippy revenge flick Mandy, turning Cosmatos into a director fans were eager to see more from, news of his upcoming feature Nekrokosm will surely be met with giddy enthusiasm. A science-fiction fantasy focused on two lovers as they are torn apart in the midst of a malevolent invasion, the premise is based on a story by Huang (In Full Bloom), who is set to co-write the script with Cosmatos.
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Minhal Baig set to direct We Spread movie adaptation
We first featured the work on Minhal Baig back in 2017, with short film Hala (above).
With writing credits on several big name TV shows – Ramy & BoJack Horseman – and her debut feature Hala picked up by Apple TV+ we’ve been eagerly awaiting updates of what’s next for thrice-featured S/W director Minhal Baig (Hala, After Sophie, Pretext) and news was released in February 2022 that her next project will be a screen adaptation of the latest Iain Reid novel. Teaming up with the author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things to adapt We Spread, the film will tell the story of an aging artist who, after the death of her partner, is moved into a unique long-term care residence where she begins to distrust her day-to-day reality.
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Kibwe Tavares teaming up with Daniel Kaluuya for debut feature
Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya last worked together in 2013 short Jonah (above)
Factory Fifteen co-founder and regular feature on S/W over the past 10+years, news of Kibwe Tavares’ (Robots of Brixton, Jonah, Robot + Scarecrow) long-awaited transition to feature films was announced at the end of March 2022. A dystopian drama set in a futuristic London where the gaps between social classes have been stretched to their limits, the Netflix backed project will star Kaluuya and is set for 2023 release.
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Kyle Marvin and Michael Covino working on football-themed road-trip movie 80 for Brady
Kyle Marvin and Michael Covino featured on S/W back in 2018 with their Sundance short The Climb (above)
Having made a name with their festival favorite short The Climb, which was later turned into a feature of the same name, writer/director/actor duo Kyle Marvin and Michael Covino are teaming up with football legend Tom Brady to bring 80 For Brady to the big screen. The story of four best friends, and New England Patriots fans, who take a life-changing trip to the Super Bowl to see their hero Brady, Marvin and Covino co-wrote the script, with the former set to direct.
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Suicide by Sunlight director Nikyatu Jusu working with Jordan Peele’s MonkeyPaw Productions for next feature
Nikyatu Jusu’s 2019 short Suicide by Sunlight (above) proved the director a distinct new voice in the world of horror
With her debut feature Nanny wowing audiences on the festival circuit and securing a distribution deal with Blumhouse and Prime Video (see below), Nikyatu Jusu (Suicide by Sunlight) is working with Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions to bring her next project to life. An untitled horror film that will be co-written with Fredrica Bailey (See You Yesterday), Monkeypaw President Win Rosenfeld described Jusu as a “singular talent with brilliant stories to tell” in a statement released about the project.
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Nikyatu Jusu’s debut feature Nanny acquired by Blumhouse and Prime Video
A still from Nikyatu Jusu’s debut feature Nanny.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and a Directors to Watch award at Palm Springs International Film Festival, it’s no real surprise that Nikyatu Jusu’s debut feature has been snapped up by horror specialist Blumhouse and streaming giant Prime Video. Details of a theatrical/streaming release are yet to be announced, but we’ll bring you more news when it’s released.
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Vertigo Releasing acquires UK/Ireland rights for Carlota Pereda’s Piggy
Carlotta Pereda’s debut feature Piggy was based on the short of the same name (above)
Another film picking up a distribution deal after Sundance success is Carlotta Pereda’s debut feature Piggy. Adapted from the short of the same name, Pereda’s rural Spanish thriller follows a butcher’s daughter offered an unexpected chance for revenge after years of bullying. Vertigo Releasing’s Head of Acquisitions and Business Development, Ed Caffrey, explains they “fell in love with Piggy at Sundance and can’t wait to bring it to UK audiences”.