EXCLUSIVE: Best Friend Forever has boarded international sales rights to Malayalam-language vampire revenge action-thriller Half ahead of its world premiere in Toronto’s Midnight Madness section.
The acquisition marks a rare crossover play for an Indian genre cinema to land a European sales agent and a Midnight Madness slot months ahead of its home-market release, rather than after building a domestic track record first.
Produced by Kerala-based Fragrant Nature Film Creations, Half is directed and co-written by Samjad with Praveen Viswanath, who previously made waves together with 2024 Malayalam psychological mystery-thriller Golam (Amazon Prime). It stars Ranjith Sajeev, Aiswarya Raj, Abbas and Amala Paul, alongside Srikanth Muruli.
Half follows twin half-blooded vampires (Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj) as they wage war with desert highway hijackers in a gory martial arts Indian western from
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Choreographer Very Tri Yulisman (The Raid 2, The Night Comes for Us) spent months training the cast to perform their own stunts and built custom camera rigs to shoot the fight sequences in-camera. Members of Yulisman’s team were also involved in the recent hit The Furious.
“Half is a fresh take on two genre classics, seamlessly blending the revenge thriller and vampire film with expertly choreographed fight sequences and top-tier production value. The Midnight Madness crowd is in for a brutally fun ride. We can’t wait to unleash it!,” said Best Friend Forever co-founders Martin Gondre and Charles Bin.
The film is produced by Anne Sajeev and Sajeev P.K. for Fragrant Nature Film Creations, the Kerala-based banner behind the hit Mohanlal-starrer, Pranayam (2011), and the Sufi-themed romantic drama Qalb (2024).
Excel Entertainment, in association with AA Films, will present and distribute Half across North India, marking Excel’s first collaboration with the Malayalam film industry.
Best Friend Forever’s TIFF slate also features Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner Elephants in the Fog, which plays in the Centrepiece sidebar, with other current sales titles including Annecy Grand Prix Contrechamp and Fantasia winner Blaise; Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Screenplay winner Nina Roza; and the animated titles Chimney Town: Frozen in Time and Papaya.
