The Coven Boards French Legalized Cannibalism Horror ‘Sunnyside’ As Filming Begins

EXCLUSIVE: Terrifier 3 sales outfit The Coven has boarded French- language horror picture Sunnyside as principal photograph begins in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France.

The debut feature of Yoann Luis, Sunnyside is set in a dystopian world where humans are raised for food.

“Sunnyside is part of the tradition of socially conscious genre cinema, where we examine power dynamics in society as humans become a resource,” said Luis.

“The legalization of cannibalism becomes a provocative metaphor for our relationships of domination, the commodification of bodies, and social and territorial divides.”

The feature film builds on Luis’ previous short film 100% Organic in which animals and human beings swap places.

Sunnyside costars Lucille Guillaume (Mads) and Rod Paradot, César winner for Most Promising Male Actor in Standing Tall and Molière winner for Best New Actor in the original stage production in Paris of Florian Zeller’s The Son

Alongside the Coven, French genre maestro Xavier Gens has also boarded the feature as an associate producer.

Gens recently directed the Netflix megahit Under Paris and series Lupin, with his filmography also including Hitman for 20th Century Fox in 2007, which grossed over $100M worldwide.

Paris-based ESC Films is on board to distribute theatrically in France, having previously released Red Rooms, When Evil Lurks, Terrifier 2 & 3, The Ugly Stepsister and The Sadness.

Sunnyside is produced by Luis and Axel Zeiliger of Block 8 Production, and Florent Steiner and Guillaume Natas on behalf of EV.L Prod, as well as Executive Producers Priscilla Ross Smith and Kendall Anlian of The Coven.

The Coven will also handle worldwide sales, after making a splash in the horror world as sales and EP on cult hit Terrifier 3, which grossed over $100M worldwide and spawned viral IP expansion.

The Coven recently launched their first video game for the franchise last November titled Terrifier: The ArtCade Game on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Steam, from Selecta Play.

“The Coven is originally a French company, and we have been looking for the perfect opportunity to invest and partner here,” said Smith, who has lived in Lyon for more than seven years. “Sunnyside is the perfect mix of artistic and commercial themes, and the connection with the team was immediate for us.”