Mavryk Takes SXSW Thriller 'And Her Body Was Never Found' to TIFF Market

Mavryk, the US-based sales firm, has acquired worldwide rights to And Her Body Was Never Found, an experimental thriller that world-premiered at SXSW, and will begin shopping it to international buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival market next month. Greg Bekkers of Mavryk said the company will go out with all rights available and expects the film to travel. Deadline

The film marks the feature directorial debut of Polaris Banks, who co-wrote the script with Mor Cohen. Cohen also co-stars opposite Banks. The two made the film with just a cast and crew of two while camping, working from a written script — a production method that shapes its experimental edge. SXSW

The story follows Jeff and Keren, a married couple who head into the wilderness hoping to repair a relationship worn down by years of fighting. It was programmed in the Visions section of SXSW 2026 as a Narrative Feature with a World premiere, scheduled for March 14, 2026, and was first announced as part of the festival's First Wave film and television lineup back in January. SXSW First Wave Press Release

Hilarion Banks, Polaris Banks and Mor Cohen produce. Tristan Barr, Josh Doke, Jonathan Barkan and David Gim serve as executive producers. Deadline

For context on how a film like this reaches audiences: a sales firm such as Mavryk acts as the bridge between a finished film and the distributors who actually place it in cinemas or on streaming platforms in individual territories. When Bekkers says "all rights available," he means no territory deals have been pre-sold — every country is open for a buyer to claim. The TIFF market, running alongside the festival itself, is one of the key annual gatherings where those deals get done.

Mavryk's Toronto slate also includes Follow Me, a thriller starring Connie Nielsen, and All Happy Families with Josh Radnor, giving the sales firm a multi-title presence as buyers circulate. Deadline

What makes And Her Body Was Never Found stand out on that slate is its scale. A two-person wilderness thriller, shot on a camping trip from a finished script, landing a sales deal ahead of one of the biggest acquisition markets on the calendar — that is the kind of scrappy origin story that catches a buyer's eye, even before anyone has seen a frame in Toronto.