Intercultural zombie romcom “Cold Feet,” from Prague-based writer-director Apoorva Satish, has secured co-producers Telemark (Poland, Ici et Là Productions (France) and line producer LaSutra Pictures (India).
The news comes ahead of the project’s debut at the Fantasia International Film Festival’s Frontières Co-Production Market, held July 22–25 in Montreal.
“Cold Feet” has been developed through Off Beat Films, Satish’s boutique production company with filmmaker Michael Sikora, which focusses on genre storytelling with folklore, futurism, and locally rooted perspectives for global audiences.
The filmmakers have also shared that Czech A-listers actor-director Jiří Mádl (“Borgia,” “Waves”), Jakub Štáfek (“Vysehrad”) and Tatiana Dyková (“Home Care”) have joined the cast of the zombie romcom which unfolds at Czech Indian wedding, during which tradition-hungry relatives and guests begin transforming into flesh-eating monsters as the bride and groom try to make it out in one piece.
Falcon is set to distribute “Cold Feet” in the Czech Republic.
“The Indian family at the heart of the film will be either U.K. Tamil or French Tamil, a creative choice tied directly to the film’s zombie mythology,” Satish told Variety. Casting strategy for the Indian characters is focused on diaspora actors with a presence in the English-language market, which is central to the film’s international positioning.
“We are in discussions with casting agencies, but those conversations are still at an early stage,” she adds. The filmmakers aim to start shooting late 2027 or early 2028.
When the director pitched “Cold Feet” in India two years ago, the response was “brutal,” she says. “I understood why the regional market might struggle to see its potential without a major star attached, but I always believed it could speak to both an underserved Indian diaspora audience and a wider international audience.”
After shaking off the disappointment, Satish got Sikora on board and the project began gaining momentum, including support from EAVE’s Ties That Bind (2025-26 cohort) and the Czech Audiovisual Fund, which boosted the filmmakers’ confidence in its international potential.
“Frontières offers the project its most significant platform so far,” Satish says, noting that Off Beat’s slate includes three genre projects at earlier stages of development. “We are excited to see how the international genre industry responds, to find the right partners for the project, and to build relationships within the genre industry that may lead to future collaborations.”
“We already have several meetings lined up in Montreal with companies we have long hoped to connect with, and we are excited to see where those conversations might lead.”
Frontières presents its Co-Production Market at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal July 22-25.
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