Nu Boyana & Free Dolphin Ready Slate, Including ‘Velvet Curtain’ & ‘Murder High’ — EFM

EXCLUSIVE: Bulgaria’s Nu Boyana Film Studios and France’s Free Dolphin Entertainment will take seven films in production this year, and have unveiled their joint EFM slate.

Since last year’s MIPCOM, Nu Boyana and Free Dolphin have been developing a strategy to release a continuous flow of movies for international distribution on ad-supported streaming services, and they are now in Berlin seeking financial and distributor partners on several projects.

The plan is to launch features “monthly” with Film Forge, Nu Boyana’s vocational training program, involved in each production.

Leading the EFM slate is Velvet Curtain (fka Fluxx) a high-concept psychological thriller that we first reported on in December 2023. It now has a U.S. theatrical release planned for this summer.

Brendan Gabriel Murphy’s pic stars Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf, Unfriended) and Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead, Red Riding Hood), with Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious franchise) in a key supporting role. The psychological thriller charts the story of a Hollywood actress who is intent on finding her famous missing husband, despite the fact that she cannot willingly leave her Malibu home. The genre-bending plot “presents a unique narrative centered on themes of memory, identity, and reality, unfolding within the visually compelling backdrop of a Hollywood Hills residence,” according to Nu Boyana and Free Dolphin.

Also at EFM is Murder High, directed by Todor Chapkanov (Black Lotus). Plot details aren’t complete but the sellers say it will “plunge audiences into the dark heart of an American high school setting.” Pre-production has begun and an October delivery date has been pencilled in.

The Price of Truth is billed as a “suspenseful thriller centered around a group of strangers forced to reveal dark secrets to escape a booby-trapped house.” According to Nu Boyana and Free Dophin, the “high-concept premise provides a unique, character-driven approach to the genre.”

The trio will be shopped at the Berlinale this week, with partners Yariv Lerner, Fiorenza Cella and Antonia Stefanova discussing sales and “investment opportunities.”

Also on the Nu Boyana-Free Dophin slate is Blurred, a thriller set in the world of fashion that was sold to Capstone, with Concord handling international sales. Runway Reels Fashion on Film is a reality show in which contestants’ creativity and resilience is tested. Sales are underway on the program, which is for Paramount+. Shadows of Beirut is a drama based on a “true story of a young woman confronting past traumas,” currently in post-production and due for release in April, and Refuge, from director Rennie Harlin, is focused on “themes of redemption, protection, and the human toll of violence.”

Each film or series has been designed specifically for the AVOD market, coming at a consistent volume. They’re being financed through a mix of pre-sales and studio investment and made using Nu Boyana’s state-of-the-art facilities.

“Yariv and I have been connected for over 30 years and have between us decades of experience in production and sales – both equally important sides of the filmmaking coin,” said Free Dolphin founder Cella. “Our combined passions have inspired this unique way to make amazing content efficiently, with all the resources and contacts we have available. It’s also an opportunity, via AVOD, to bring our content to viewers more directly, and adapt to their tastes and feedback.”