London-based writer-director Ajuán Isaac-George is headed to the Croisette with his film project “Duppy,” which will be part of the Proof of Concept section of the Frontières Platform, Cannes’ biggest genre showcase.
The film is a co-production between the U.K. and Jamaica and takes place in Jamaica in 1998, the most violent year in the island’s history. It tells the story of 12-year-old Rainbow, who’s left in the care of her grandparents in the Jamaican countryside. Feeling lonely and abandoned, she summons a hostile spirit in order to get back at her strict religious grandmother, unknowingly forming an unbreakable pact with a shapeshifting demon.
“‘Duppy’ is a culturally specific horror that transforms Jamaican folklore into a universal story about grief, loneliness, and the destructive power of childhood emotion. Despite Jamaica’s profound worldwide cultural influence, its folklore is rarely explored through a cinematic horror lens. It’s a cinematic, visceral, character-driven horror where a child’s need for control unleashes something far more terrifying,’’ Isaac-George told Variety.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a Jamaican project that explores its folklore, myths and legends that we know about,” added Annick Mahnert, Frontières Platform executive director.
The film will be Isaac-George’s first feature-length project. His short film, “Snowfalls in the Summer,” premiered at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival and played at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts. His short documentary, “Seventeen,” followed a group of roller skaters over the final summer of their adolescence and premiered at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival.
The Duppy team, from left to right: producer Dorottya Székely, writer-director Ajuán Isaac-George, and producer Aleksandra Bilić
“Duppy” was presented to an industry audience at Film London’s Production Finance Market in 2025, which showcases projects from emerging filmmakers. It is produced by My Accomplice, with U.K. producers Aleksandra Bilić and Dorottya Székely, and Jamie Clark executive-producing, in co-production with Mental Telepathy, Jamaica’s Robert A. Maylor co-producing.
Organized by the Fantasia International Film Festival, in partnership with the Marché du Film, the Frontières is the world’s leading international genre co-production market and networking platform between Europe and North America. The Frontières Platform takes place at the Palais des Festivals over May 16-17.
John Hopewell contributed to this article.