John Soto’s voodoo thriller Needle has been snapped up by a European distributor – even before the film screens at Cannes.

Needle is the story of two brothers who go on a quest to find an ancient voodoo machine, and was filmed in Perth. One by one, a group of teenage friends get picked off by some sort of supernatural serial killer.

It stars Michael Dorman, Trilby Glover, Calvin Klein model Travis Fimmel, Jessica Marais and John Jarratt.

Perth director Soto also wrote the screenplay, while Kane Manera produced it.

American distribution company Lighting Entertainment has been spruiking the product, and negotiated a sale to German-speaking group Telepool even before the scheduled Cannes screening.

“There has been tremendous interest in Needle since we first showed the promo in Berlin,” Lightning co-president Richard Guardian told Screen Daily.

“Buyer reaction to this initial footage made it clear that we had something special on our hands and we expect an even greater reaction to the finished version being screening in Cannes.”

Soto aimed from the start to make a film with international appeal. He described the plot as being Agatha Christie-style, and a gruesome suspense-filled story.

Very happy to hear this information!