M-Appeal Boards Sitges Competition Title ‘Bury Your Dead’ by Marco Dutra (EXCLUSIVE)

Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has boarded elevated genre title “Bury Your Dead,” which world premieres at the Sitges Film Festival in the competition section. The director is Brazilian filmmaker Marco Dutra.

Dutra’s previous feature “All the Dead Ones” premiered in Berlinale competition in 2020, while his gory werewolf tale “Good Manners,” co-directed with Juliana Rojas, won the Silver Leopard at Locarno in 2017. The directing duo’s debut horror film “Hard Labor” premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2011.

After the screening at Sitges next week, the film will play at BFI London Film Festival. Further fall festival selections will be announced shortly.

The film follows Edgar Wilson, a roadkill collector in rural Brazil, who dreams of escaping his small-town existence with Nete, the love of his life. When Nete decides to join her family in an apocalyptic cult, Edgar finds himself at a crossroads. With the world on the brink of destruction, Edgar and his unlikely companion Tomás – a disgraced and excommunicated priest – embark on a dangerous road trip through a landscape plagued by chaos and despair. As they navigate through the remains of civilization, Edgar must confront his inner demons and reconcile his past.

“Both genre enthusiasts and mainstream audiences will be captivated by this ambitious apocalyptic thriller, full of twists that keep you on edge. With high production value and Marco Dutra’s daring storytelling, this film stands out as a compelling choice for buyers,” said Maren Kroymann, managing director of M-Appeal.

The film is produced by RT Features and Globoplay. RT Features’ previous titles include “Call Me by Your Name” (Sundance 2017), “Bergman Island” (competition, Cannes 2021), “Armageddon Time” (competition, Cannes 2022), and “Ad Astra” (Venice 2019). Globoplay is the leading Brazilian streaming platform and has recently begun producing a strong slate of theatrical features.

The cast is led by Selton Mello, a prominent figure in Brazilian cinema, whose latest film “I’m Still Here,” directed by Walter Salles, on which RT Features and Globoplay are also coproducers, recently premiered in Venice competition.

Among a host of genre references, “Bury Your Dead” is an adaptation of Brazilian author Ana Paula Maia’s 2019 novel. Maia is a critically acclaimed author known for her dark and often brutal portrayals of working-class life.

“I suggested Ana Paula Maia’s book to Marco, as I had the intuition that their work was deeply connected. Selton Mello’s acting, and Marco’s script, bring Ana’s recurring character of Edgar Wilson to life. We were able to put together a wonderful cast and team in a movie that I believe will stay with the viewers long after the projection ends,” added producer Rodrigo Teixeira of RT Features.

“Marco is a visionary director who has turned the horror and fantasy genres on their heads more than once and with “Bury Your Dead” he has done it in the most surprising way yet,” added Alex Medeiros, head of drama and film for Globoplay.