A Beautiful Curse has just won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Thriller, Horror or Sci-Fi Film at Cinequest 2021. The film tells the story of photographer Samuel, played by Mark Strepan, who sneaks onto an island which is under quarantine due to a mysterious phenomenon where all the inhabitants have fallen into a sleep they can’t wake up from. While there, he falls in love with the sleeping Stella, played by Olivia Vinall as he tries to unravel the mystery of the deep sleep that has overtaken everyone. 

The film was written and directed by award-winning Danish director Martin Garde Abildgaard who shot the English speaking film on the island of Fano off the coast of Denmark. It was produced by Rikke Katborg and Francois Chilot of Les Producers in association with Circus Alphaville, Creative Alliance, editor Marco Perez and Union Editorial, all of whom previously collaborated on Abildgaard’s award-winning short, “Lovebirds.” A Beautiful Curse has also been selected to feature in the River Run festival next month.