Film Movement Takes North American Rights to Spanish Folk Horror ‘The Wait’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Film Movement has snapped up North American rights to folk horror film “The Wait” (La Espera) from Spanish filmmaker F. Javier Gutierrez, best known for “Before the Fall” and “Rings,” following its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest. Film Movement is eyeing an autumn digital and cable release.

The film is set deep in the Andalusian countryside, where Eladio works as the groundskeeper of a hunting estate owned by the powerful Don Francisco. After taking a bribe from a veteran hunter, Eladio’s normal life falls apart, plunging him into the depths of guilt, hatred and revenge.

“The Wait,” which played at numerous film festivals including Sitges, Shanghai, Vancouver and Oldenburg, is “powerful and devastating,” according to Fotogramas, and “takes viewers along on a macabre descent into hell,” said Screen Zealots. It is “superbly directed,” Horror Fuel said, with an “impressive performance” from Victor Clavijo, according to Starburst.

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“The Wait” stars Clavijo (“Before the Fall”), Ruth Diaz, Manuel Moron and Pedro Casablanc (“Strange Way of Life”). It is produced by Gutierrez’s Unfiled Films, Nostromo Pictures (“Buried,” “Penny Dreadful”), and Spal Films (“Before the Fall”).

Gutierrez said, “I’m truly excited to share with American audiences this unsettling story of guilt, loss, revenge and class divides. Deeply human and rich with symbolism and biblical references, ‘The Wait’ is my most personal and uncompromising film to date.”

Michael Rosenberg, president of Film Movement, sealed the deal with Vicente Canales, managing director of Film Factory Entertainment.

Rosenberg said the film was “full of excellent craftsmanship and a haunting performance by Victor Clavijo.”

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