Epic Pictures Group has acquired worldwide sales and distribution rights to the sci-fi thriller “Somnus.” It will launch international sales at the Cannes Film Festival next week, Variety has learned exclusively.
The film is directed by Chris Reading from his own script, co-written with Russell Owen. The film, Reading’s directorial debut, was completed in 2015 in the U.K. with Candr Pictures Ltd.
“Somnus” follows the crew of an aging cargo ship on their final mission on the monotonous Earth-Mars shipping route. Malfunctions aboard the ship force a change of course to Somnus, a remote asteroid colony. The crew soon discovers the inhabitants of the colony have a dark past, and troubling plans for the future of mankind.
The film is inspired by the special effects work of Douglas Trumbull in such films as “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The interiors of the space ship were shot in a decommissioned military aircraft at the East Midland Aeropark with the help of volunteers.
Reading and his production company, Candr Pictures Ltd., will collaborate with Epic Pictures Group on the multi-platform release of “Somnus.” The cast includes Meryl Griffiths (“The Missing Hand”), Marcus McMahon (“A Helical”), Mac McDonald (“Shooter”) and Jennifer Moylan-Taylor (“Guardians of the Galaxy”).
Epic Pictures has produced “Big Ass Spider,” Darren Lynn Bousman’s “11-11-11” and the anthology “Tales of Halloween,” as well as 2015 Sundance titles “Entertainment” and “Turbo Kid.” Recent releases include “Jeruzalem” and FrightFest best film winner “Nina Forever.”
Epic Pictures will release “Somnus” in the U.S. later this year.
Watch the film’s teaser below.
