Film production, financing and distribution studio Epic Pictures Group has acquired the worldwide sales and distribution rights to the sci-fi thriller SOMNUS, written by Russell Owen and Chris Reading who also directs. Reading’s directorial debut, the film was completed in 2015 in the UK with Candr Pictures Ltd.
SOMNUS follows the crew of an aging cargo ship on their final mission working the monotonous Earth-Mars shipping route. Malfunctions aboard the ship force a change off course to Somnus, a remote asteroid colony. The crew soon discovers the inhabitants of the colony have a dark past, and troubling plans for the future of mankind.
The film is inspired by the iconic work of Douglas Trumbull in such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Reading stuck to practical techniques and shot with models and on location as much as possible. The interiors of SOMNUS space ship setting were shot in decommissioned military aircraft at the East Midland Aeropark with the help of enthusiastic volunteers there.
A graduate of City University London, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama London, Reading has had success with a number of short films, in festivals around the world.
Chris Reading and his production company, Candr Pictures Ltd., will collaborate with Epic Pictures Group on the multi-platform release of SOMNUS.
The cast includes Meryl Griffiths (The Missing Hand), Marcus McMahon (A Helical), Mac McDonald (Shooter), and Jennifer Moylan-Taylor (Guardians of the Galaxy).
Epic Pictures will commence foreign sales in Cannes for SOMNUS which will be released in the US by Epic Pictures Releasing this year.
About Epic Pictures Group
Established in 2007 by Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson, Epic Pictures Group has grown to become one of the most creative and dynamic independent studios, focusing on filmmakers’ vision driven projects, shaping them from script to worldwide sales.
Throughout the past 8 years, Epic produced many hits including “BIG ASS SPIDER!,” Darren Lynn Bousman’s “11-11-11,” “VIKINGDOM” starring Dominic Purcell, Craig Fairbrass, Jon Foo, and Natassia Malthe and more recently the 2015 Sundance premieres “ENTERTAINMENT” and “TURBO KID” and all-star horror anthology “TALES OF HALLOWEEN.” Recent releases include “JERUZALEM” and FrightFest Best Film Winner “NINA FOREVER.”
Epic Pictures Group seeks out relationships with exceptional producers and talent in order to secure A-level, high-quality projects. Epic Pictures Group actively develops a full range of new relationships and strategic alliances with financiers, independent production companies, producers and studios both domestically and in Europe and Asia.