Catalyst Studios has tapped Serbian helmer Milena Grujic (A.S. (25), The Future is Bright and Unbearable) to direct action title Verified Target. The project will star international cast including Dominka Walo (Psy 3: W imie Zasad) Sebastian Hulk (All Quiet on the Western Front), Martin Wuttke (Inglorious Bastards), and Maria Erwolter (1899).

Verified Target is a high-octane English-language action film that tells the tale of a disillusioned hit woman who discovers the organization she works for is no longer a force for good. Her target has been falsely verified, she refuses to “take the shot” and now becomes a target on the hit list of the firm she once worked for.

The film, which begins filming in Belgrade, Serbia this week, is produced by Marija Bereta and Dragan Ivanovic, who heads Bandur Film in Belgrade.  Catalyst Studios’ Holly Levow is executive producing.

“I like to push my own limits, collaborate with creative minds, and find unique ways to enrich the vision of any project,” said Grujic. “Directing an action film like this, with the support of Catalyst Studios, is a great step forward for me and my colleagues from the Baltic region. I am truly happy to bring Verified Target to the screen.”

“This is a perfect project for Catalyst given that we have established an impressive production footprint in Serbia,” said Catalyst Studios’ Mark Pennell and Paul Kampf. “We are absolutely thrilled to have Milena, a proven asset to our studio, at the helm of Verified Target, an English-speaking film shot in Serbia for the international market.”

Verified Target joins Catalyst’s slate of six feature films directed and produced by women and centered on female protagonists, including Michelle Salcedo for Switch & Bait, Joanne Mitchell for Sybil, Siri Rødnes for Follow Me, Colombian auteur Ana Maria Hermida for the recently completed coming-of-age film, Alix, and Tamika Miller (Honor Student, “Station 19”) for a soon to be announced project.

Deadline Article

Connie Nielsen is set to star in the psychological thriller “Follow Me” from Catalyst Studios.

The “Gladiator” and “Wonder Woman” star will play the lead role in the film, directed by auteur Siri Rødnes (“A Gambler’s Guide to Dying”). Sam Hunt (“Chicago PD,” ”Empire”) and Stef Dawson (The Hunger Games trilogy, “The Dust Walker”), will co-star opposite Nielsen.

Principal photography will begin in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sept. 25. The film is being produced by Devin DiGonno for Catalyst Studios. Holly Levow, Mark Pennell and Paul Kampf are executive producing.

Written by Catalyst’s Mark Pennell, “Follow Me” is described as a “tense” psychological thriller with “all the twists and turns of a classic Hitchcockian thriller, pushing boundaries and blurring the lines between relationships to reveal that money, secrets and deception is a deadly mix.”

Catalyst is the new banner from social entrepreneur Holly Levow, Mark Pennell and Paul Kampf. It was formed to produce compelling, high-quality, and commercial feature films. The company recently unveiled its first project, “Switch & Bait,” which is directed by Michelle Salcedo and stars Otmara Marrero and Katie Clarkson-Hill.

Catalyst Studios executive producer Levow said: “Catalyst Studios was formed to deliver a slate of high-quality, fiscally conscious, commercially successful films with broad and identifiable audiences while giving new and visionary female filmmakers unique opportunities that have previously been scarce. ‘Follow Me’ is the second Catalyst film to go into production based on our mission.”

Nielsen is best known for the Oscar-winning feature “Gladiator” opposite Russell Crowe and “Wonder Woman” and “Wonder Woman 1984,” where she played Queen Hippolyta. She is starring in Viaplay’s “The Dreamer,” which premiered at this year’s Canneseries, Liza Bolton’s “Ocean Deep” and the AMC-Channel 4 series, “Close to Me” opposite Christopher Eccleston.

Hunt played Greg ‘Mouse’ Gerwitz on NBC’s long-running series “Chicago P.D.” and starred in Season 3 of Fox’s “Empire” opposite Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, as well as “The L Word: Generation Q” and “Days of Our Lives.”

Dawson is known for playing ‘Annie Cresta’ in The Hunger Games films, as well as the lead in numerous independent films including “The Paper Store” opposite Penn Badgley, for which she won the Oxford International Film Festival’s best actress award, “7 Guardians of the Tomb” with Kelsey Grammer, and “Painted Woman.”

Nielson is represented by UTA, Soli e Associati, The Artists Partnership, and The Lasher Group. Hunt is represented by APA. Dawson is repped by Innovative Artists, Morrissey Management, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

The Catalyst slate of films is being represented for sales by Highland Film Group.

Variety Article

Colombian auteur Ana Maria Hermida (“The Firefly”) is directing an all-star cast in Catalyst Studios’ “Alix.”

The film introduces Cristal Aparicio (“Enfermeras”) to international audiences in the title role of Alix. Based on Hermida’s script, the film also stars Natalia Reyes (“Terminator Dark Fate”), Roberto Urbina (“Snowpiercer”), Carlos Bardem (“El Cid”) and Carolina Guerra (“Animal Kingdom”). Principal photography has begun in the jungles of Rio Claro, Colombia.

A redemptive coming-of-age tale about the discovery of inner strength and new beginnings, the film is a magic realist tale that tells the story of Conejo (Urbina), a skilled soldier, and a young girl, Alix (Aparicio), who he recruits to be a child soldier in the Colombian jungle under the command of the charismatic Ramon (Bardem). Alix, innocent and optimistic, deals with the trauma of her hard circumstances by letting her imagination journey to a magical realm.

“Alix” is produced by Lemore Syvan, along with Catalyst Studios’ Holly Levow, Paul Kampf and Mark Pennell. Colombian production services are being provided by Imaginer Films.

Hermida said: “The movie is a full Spanish-language film and the location of the shoot makes it very authentic to the nature of the material. We all understand the purpose of this movie and I love how everyone involved has connected with the script and the importance of creating awareness regarding topics such as human trafficking and child soldiers. Colombia is an inspiring country that needs healing, and I wrote this movie to honor that.”

Syvan added: “It has been a long and difficult road. I am grateful to Catalyst Studios who saw the beauty and power of the screenplay and were not afraid to share Ana Maria’s vision for it. We are lucky to have this dream cast of incredible actors who are so passionate about the story and their characters.”

Catalyst Studios is a joint venture between social entrepreneur Levow and producer Kampf’s Equitas Entertainment and Pennell of Beacon Pictures. “Alix” is the fourth film from Catalyst since it launched in May 2022.  The slate, which will feature six feature films directed, produced and centered on female protagonists, includes Siri Rødnes’ “Follow Me,” starring Connie Nielsen, Michelle Saledo’s “Switch & Bait,” starring Otmara Marrero and Katie Clarkson-Hill, and Joanne Mitchell’s “Sybil.”

Courtesy by VARIETY