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A+E Networks Boosts Co-Pro Offering With Double UK Hire

A+E Networks has boosted its international co-production team with the hire of British TV vets Ninder Billing and Alexandra Finlay. The pair take up the roles of Vice President Unscripted Co-Productions International and Vice President Scripted Co-Productions International respectively. Billing’s role is new and Finlay replaces Moreyba Bidessie. Based in London, they will be responsible for identifying opportunities with global appeal and overseeing development and production, while working closely with third-party producers. A+E’s international co-productions include PBS Masterpiece’s Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Disney+’s Red Election, BBC drama North Sea Connection and Paramount+ doc Damian Lewis: Spy Wars. Former Channel 5 commissioner Billing joins from her post as Creative Director of Banijay-backed Darlow Smithson Productions, while Finlay was Vice President, Creative and Co-productions at Shaftesbury and is a former acquisitions exec for BBC Studios-owned UKTV.

Stars: Lyman Ward, Debbon Ayer, Cristina Spruell, Don Baldaramos, Time Winters, Sharon Sharth | Written and Directed by Hector Barron

One of the things that I attribute the fact that I’m still alive to is the fact that I never liked going camping. From The Hills Have Eyes to The Trees Have Eyes to Eyes of Fire and now In the Forest heading out to the great outdoors never seems to end well, does it?

In the Forest opens with Bob Seegar’s “Against the Wind” playing on an Rv radio. Apart from making me feel old, it made me nervous because getting the rights to a song like this probably ate most of the film’s budget. Inside the Rv are Stan, his daughter Helen and her daughter Emily. Stan seems to think this trip will do the ladies some good, they don’t seem to be so sure.

Things like drinking games and “RiffTrax” were invented for movies like “In the Forest,” which are very bad but need a little participatory help to become so-bad-they’re-good. This quasi-horror tale of bickering vacationers running afoul of disturbed locals strings together various well-worn clichés with a notable lack of suspense, plausibility and style, while excelling in the realm of characters behaving like complete idiots. Simultaneous with streaming-platforms release on Jan. 28, Vertical Entertainment is opening Hector Barron’s feature on a couple dozen screens nationwide. That might normally seem a modest number, but in this particular case it represents a considerable leap of faith.

Among the bad ideas enthusiastically embraced straight off here is making our ostensible protagonists as irritating as possible. Senior Stan (Lyman Ward) is piloting the Rv as he drives middle-aged daughter Helen (Debbon Ayer) and her young-adult offspring Emily (Cristina Spruell) on a camping vacation intended to...

"I think this wilderness trip is gonna do you both a whole lotta good." Vertical Ent. has released an official trailer for the indie thriller film In the Forest, arriving on VOD at the end of January for anyone curious about this. In the Forest follows Helen and her daughter Emily as they reluctantly accompany Helen's father Stan, played by Lyman Ward, on a family camping trip, driving deep into the forest for a real experience. Only to have an angry landowner arrive and force them to leave. When their Rv gets stuck, Helen decides to seek help but discovers a disturbing secret on the man's property. She must then fight to protect her family and make it out of the forest alive before being hunted down. Starring Debbon Ayer, Cristina Spruell, Don Baldaramos, Sharon Sharth, Kaitlyn Dias, and Time Winters. There's not much to watch here. Here's the official...

Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American and UK rights to Hector Barron’s horror-thriller In the Forest, along with U.S. rights to Alice Blehart’s animated film Little Sorcerer. Both titles are slated for a day-and-date theatrical release, with the former from Disrupting Influence to hit screens on January 28, and the latter from Chinese independent animation studio Gold Valley Films to debut on May 6.

In the Forest watches as Helen (Debbon Ayer) and her daughter Emily (Cristina Spruell) reluctantly accompany Helen’s father Stan (Lyman Ward) on a family camping trip, driving deep into the forest for a real outdoors experience, only to have angry landowner Howard (Don Baldaramos) arrive and force them to leave. When their Rv gets stuck, Helen decides to seek help but discovers a disturbing secret on the man’s property. She must then fight to protect her family and make it out of...

"I just want to listen to your voice... it makes me feel safe." Anam Cara Films has released an official trailer for the indie film Him & Her, a romantic drama from Chicago filmmaker Íce Mrozek. It takes us back to 1989 when everyone still used landline telephones, telling a story about a unique crossed lines connection. These crossed lines lead to a life changing conversation between two strangers, who eventually meet in an unusual way. "I just want this feeling to last." Starring Cristina Spruell and Callan McAuliffe as "her and him". This reminds me of the film Frequency but with an entirely different premise, though the phone is important to plot. I like these kind of stories and I'm curious to find out what happens when they finally try to meet up. Maybe it will work out? Or maybe it will mean something anyway no matter what happens? Here's...