A woman declared dead returns to her village, only to discover that convincing everyone she is still alive may be more frightening than death itself. That is the premise behind THE UNDYING, an upcoming Bengali-language gothic horror film that has secured worldwide sales representation with California Pictures.
As first reported by Deadline, the Los Angeles-based AK Studios production will be introduced to international buyers at the American Film Market, with the completed film already available for potential distributors.
Written, directed, and edited by Samman Roy, THE UNDYING is adapted from a short story by Nobel Prize-winning author Rabindranath Tagore.
The outlet goes on to detail the films plot: The film takes place in 19th-century rural Bengal and follows Kadambini, a young widow who is pronounced dead and prepared for cremation. Before the ceremony can take place, she awakens and returns to her village. Her arrival, however, brings a disturbing problem: nobody believes she is alive.
The production is described as a slow-burning horror story built around atmosphere, ritual and dread, using its historical setting and literary origins to deliver a different kind of supernatural nightmare. Sree Bhattacharyya and Arpita De lead the cast.
Roy previously worked with AK Studios on the folk horror film THE EXILE. The new project is produced by Awadhesh Kumar, founder of AK Studios and former Global Head of Distribution at India’s National Film Development Corporation. Mona Singh, Sumitra Kumari and Nina Kim serve as co-producers, with Steven Istock, Isaac Bess and Laura Cunningham executive producing.
California Pictures President and CEO Steven Istock praised the film’s distinctive approach to genre storytelling, describing it as an eerie period horror with international appeal.
The company plans to introduce the film at AFM before giving it an official debut at the European Film Market in Berlin, followed by a screening at the Cannes Film Market in May.
We’ll keep ya posted as usual for any updates on this one.