RLJE Films has announced the acquisition of DESCENDENT, the feature debut from Peter Cilella, ahead of its world premiere at SXSW. Written and directed by Cilella, the film stars Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead, Invincible) and Sarah Bolger (Mayans M.C.). RLJE Films has picked up the rights for North America, and will release the film in theaters later this year. Highland Film Group is handling international rights.
Set in present day Los Angeles, DESCENDENT follows Sean Bruner, a school security guard who is haunted by childhood trauma while preparing for the birth of his first child with his wife, Andrea. After a beam of light appears in the sky during a late-night shift, Sean wakes up in the hospital with an inexplicable talent for vivid, unsettling drawings of extraterrestrials and desert landscapes. As his visions blur the line between dreams and reality, Sean's grip on sanity unravels. With time running out, he must confront his fears to escape his family's tragic legacy.
"This film was a labor of love, and I could not be more thrilled to partner with RLJE Films to bring DESCENDENT to SXSW and beyond," said director Peter Cilella. "It truly takes a village to bring a project like this to life, and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make it possible."
"We look forward to releasing DESCENDENT alongside Peter Cilella, who delivers a gripping fusion of suspense and sci-fi, offering audiences a deeply personal story wrapped in cosmic fears that harkens to Fire in the Sky. With its haunting atmosphere, the film taps into primal fears of parenthood, destiny, and forces beyond out control," said Chief Acquisitions Officer of RLJE Films Mark Ward.
"We are delighted to team up with our friends at RLJE Films on DESCENDENT - they are the ideal partner to introduce Peter Cilella's chilling and riveting science fiction thriller to audiences in the U.S., beginning with its anticipated debut at SXSW," added Highland Film Group's CEO Arianne Fraser and COO Delphine Perrier.
DESCENDENT is produced by David Lawson Jr, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, and Caleb Ward, and executive produced by Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier and Henry Winterstern for Highland Film Group, and Mark Ward. The deal was negotiated by Mark Ward and Brandon Harmer of RLJE Films with Highland Film Group.
ABOUT RLJE FILMS AMC Networks’ RLJE Films is a distribution company whose releases include the Nicolas Cage phenomenon MANDY from Panos Cosmatos, S. Craig Zahler’s BONE TOMAHAWK starring Kurt Russell, and David Ayer’s action-packed THE TAX COLLECTOR. Recent films include Benjamin Brewer’s creature feature ARCADIAN, CHILDREN OF THE CORN, a chilling re-telling for a whole new generation from director Kurt Wimmer, Claudio Fäh’s high-concept shark thriller NO WAY UP, and John Stalberg Jr.’s MUZZLE.
ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning worldwide sales, film financing, production and distribution company. Launched in 2010, HFG has had success across a wide range of film genres and platforms, building a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space, focusing on cast, director, and filmmaker driven content.
HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and recently surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan which recently took the #1 spot on Hulu in the US; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne, official selection at SXSW; Allan Ungar’s action comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; and the high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia and David Dastmalchian.
New projects include Martin Campbell’s action-thriller Dedication starring Daisy Ridley; Adrian Grunberg’s action-thriller Protector starring Milla Jovovich; the action crime thriller Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sasha Calle; John Stalberg, Jr.’s Muzzle: City of Wolves starring Aaron Eckhart; the shark survival actioner The Black Demon: Atlantis starring Jack Kesy; the action crime thriller The Deputy starring Duke Nicholson, William H. Macy, Tiffany Haddish and Stephen Dorff; and Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland.