NEON WRAPS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON HUNTER SCHAFER HORROR FILM, CUCKOO
Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick Added to Cast. NEON to Release in 2023
NEON has wrapped production on Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo, the feature film debut of Hunter Schafer (Euphoria). The horror film, written and directed by Singer, was shot on 35mm in Germany.
With plot details being kept under wraps, post-production is currently underway for the film’s 2023 release. Following his 2018 debut Luz, Singer became one of the most sought-after up-and-coming filmmakers. Lauded as a “major new talent” in cinema, Singer has been critically acclaimed for his genre-bending storytelling and wholly unique approach to horror.
The ensemble cast, led by Schafer, includes Dan Stevens, along with Jessica Henwick, Marton Csókás, and Greta Fernández.
Cuckoo reunites Singer with Luz lead actor Jan Bluthardt, as well as cinematographer Paul Faltz and production designer Dario Mendez Acosta. Simon Waskow will also return as composer and Henning Hein as sound designer.
Executive produced by Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, Emily Thomas, and Ryan Friscia for NEON, Cuckoo is produced by Markus Halberschmidt, Josh Rosenbaum, Maria Tsigka, and Ken Kao, Thor Bradwell and Ben Rimmer, in a cooperation between FICTION PARK (Germany) and Waypoint Entertainment (USA). Additional funding led by the Film und Medien Stiftung NRW, HessenFilm and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).
Schafer made her acting debut portraying Jules in the HBO Emmy-winning series “Euphoria.” After co-writing and co-executive producing a special episode of the critically acclaimed series, Schafer expanded her resume, directing Girl in Red’s music video for ‘hornylovesickmess’. In 2021, Time named Schafer to its Next list of 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future. She recently joined the cast of The Hunger Games prequel: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Schafer is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Stevens starred in I’m Your Man, Germany’s official Academy Award submission for Best International Feature, which made the 2022 shortlist. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and received multiple nominations at the German Film Awards including Best Actor for Stevens. Stevens currently stars in the Starz political thriller series, “Gaslit,” alongside Sean Penn and Julia Roberts. He was recently announced as the lead of Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong sequel.
Henwick will begin filming NEON’s Kitty Green film, The Royal Hotel this summer alongside Julia Garner. She was most recently seen in the Warner Bros. box office hit Matrix: Resurrections, as well as in Blade Runner: Black Lotus. She will next be seen in the Russo Brothers film The Gray Man for Netflix this summer and Knives Out 2 this Fall.
After graduating from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1989 with a Diploma in Acting, Csókás has worked extensively in film, television and on stage across New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. With notable roles such as Celebron in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and working opposite Denzel Washington in The Equalizer, Csókás was last seen in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and stars along Russell Crowe in Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher.
Greta Fernandez is an exciting and talented Spanish actress who is currently shooting Carlos Lopez’s highly anticipated Netflix series “Santo.” She is likely best known as the lead of Belen Funes’ critically-acclaimed feature La Hija De Un Ladron, for which she won a Concha de Plata in the category of Best Actress. The film was part of the official selection for the 2019 San Sebastian Film Festival and won Greta a handful of international awards and recognitions. Additionally, for her fiery supporting role in Isaki Lacuesta’s The Next Skin, Greta received a nomination in the 2017 Gaudi Awards. With over 15 films and TV shows under her belt, Greta has proven herself a force to be reckoned with across the new wave of Spanish cinema.
