London-based writer-director Ajuán Isaac-George is heading to the Croisette with his upcoming feature project “Duppy,” which has been selected for the Proof of Concept section of the Frontières Platform, one of the key genre-focused industry events linked to the wider Cannes Film Festival ecosystem.
The film is a U.K.–Jamaica co-production set in Jamaica in 1998, described as the country’s most violent year. It follows 12-year-old Rainbow, who is sent to live with her grandparents in the countryside. Struggling with isolation and emotional distress, she summons a hostile spirit to retaliate against her strict religious grandmother—unwittingly forming a pact with a shapeshifting demon.
Isaac-George described “Duppy” as a culturally rooted horror story that uses Jamaican folklore to explore grief, loneliness, and childhood emotional turmoil. He said the project aims to bring rarely depicted Caribbean mythology into a cinematic horror framework.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a Jamaican project that explores its folklore, myths and legends that we know about,” said Annick Mahnert, executive director of the Frontières Platform.
The project marks Isaac-George’s first feature-length film. His short “Snowfalls in the Summer” premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2023 and screened at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. His documentary “Seventeen” also premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2025.
“Duppy” was previously presented at the Film London Production Finance Market, which supports emerging filmmakers and projects seeking industry backing.
The film is produced by My Accomplice, with producers Aleksandra Bilić and Dorottya Székely, and executive producer Jamie Clark. It is co-produced with Jamaican company Mental Telepathy, with Robert A. Maylor serving as co-producer.
The Frontières Platform, organized by the Fantasia International Film Festival in partnership with the Marché du Film, is widely regarded as a leading international co-production and networking hub for genre filmmaking across Europe and North America.
