Trish Dolman and Christine Haebler’s Screen Siren Pictures has launched a genre-focused Scream Siren label with strong women characters in lead roles.
The slate will kick off with the teen horror pic IVY, about a malevolent ghost who wreaks havoc on a 17-year-old and everyone who comes into contact with her. Kaare Andrews will direct the indie written and co-produced by Jason Bourque and Paul Birkett.
Also in the works for a late 2024 or early 2025 shoot is Running Girl, an action thriller about a young woman who witnesses a murder, before having to run for her life with a 9-year-old to stay ahead of the killers in the high desert. Bones of Crows filmmaker Marie Clement will direct a script from Deon Meyer (Durban Poison).
The Scream Siren label also has in the works Osiris, a supernatural psychological thriller from director Rachel Leiterman set aboard an icebreaker whose crew is in a race against time to uncover the origins of a mysterious sound from the deepest part of the southern Atlantic Ocean. The script is written by Coz Greenup and Lucinda Royden and the production credits are shared by Gareth Wiley from UK-based Phoenix Wiley Films (Vicki Christina Barcelona, Match Point).
Screen Siren is best known for producing arthouse titles like the Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges-starrer French Exit, Bones of Crows (Grace Dove) and Hector and the Search for Happiness, starring Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike. The first films from the Scream Siren label will be produced by Haebler, Dolman and Steven Thibault.
“We will bring our track record of producing elevated art house films to the thriller and horror genre – unique and compelling stories that resonate with a wide audience, especially with strong female leads that challenge conventions and explore new horizons,” Haebler said in a statement.
There’s no word on casting for the upcoming indie films. The first projects, all financed and ready for production, are being cast by Rene Haynes, CSA, whose credits include Killers of the Flower Moon, Prey and The Revenant.
