French horror Sunnyside finds global seller as shoot begins
Humans are farmed for meat in Sunnyside, a French-language horror film that has just found its international seller.
The Coven has boarded the project to handle worldwide sales, the job of licensing cinema rights to distributors country by country, as reported by Deadline. Company leaders Priscilla Ross Smith and Kendall Anlian are also on board as executive producers, a role that tends to cover financing and strategic support rather than daily work on set.
The story centres on Joanna, a young farmer, according to Block 8 Production. She lives in a dystopian world where humans are raised for food. Lucille Guillaume plays Joanna, opposite Rod Paradot.
What makes this stand out is the set-up. It puts farm work and food production at the centre of the horror. Dialogue will be in French.
It is the first feature from writer-director Yoann Luis. He is building the film out from his short 100% Organic. First features often grow this way, with a short acting as proof of tone and concept before money is raised for the longer version.
Shooting began on 14 September 2026. Principal photography is under way in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France. The sales announcement was published on 15 September 2026, a day after shooting started, a common pattern when a seller talks to buyers as cameras roll.
The film is produced by Luis and Axel Zeiliger for Block 8 Production, with Florent Steiner and Guillaume Natas producing for EV.L Prod. Xavier Gens has joined as associate producer, a credit often given to a key creative supporter. ESC Films will distribute the film in cinemas in France, while The Coven sells it outside that home market. That split is standard for independent film: a local distributor holds the home territory, an international seller handles the rest.
The Coven works almost entirely in genre film, listing horror, thriller and science fiction as its focus, according to The Coven. The company previously acted as sales agent for Terrifier 3. Its sales operation is headed by Toronto-based Anelle Dehghani, whose hiring was reported by Screen Daily in January 2024.
For fans, this means a long wait. A film starting its shoot in September 2026 still faces months of filming, editing and subtitling before any festival premiere or cinema date.
