“Coyote”, the British sci-fi feature film debut from American filmmaker Dustin Curtis Murphy, has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures and is set for release in North America on June 20th, 2023. The film, which was recently nominated for a National Film Award, stars “The Witcher” actress Therica Wilson-Read and “Absentia” actress Borislava Stratieva and was co-produced by Addy Raja and Chris Kyriacou.
“Coyote” is a story of forbidden love in a dystopian future where teleportation technology enables two refugees to escape genocide. When they trust the wrong back-alley teleporter, Ekaterina (Wilson-Read) and Anya (Stratieva) are separated. In a desperate attempt to be reunited, our heroines are entwined in an insidious human trafficking ring involving corrupt politicians.
The cast also features BIFA winner Ruhtxjiaih Bellenea (“The Last Tree”) and Ailish Symons (“The Importance of Being Earnest”), Tian Chaudry (“You Were Never Really Here”), Beruce Khan (RSC Live: “Twelfth Night”) and Richard Glover (“Censor” & “Rogue One”). The film had its international premiere on March 24th at the Phoenix Film Festival and enjoyed a further sold-out screening at the festival on April 2nd. The film is set for a US release on June 20th, 2023. A UK release is yet to be announced.
Speaking about her involvement in the film, Therica had this to say:
“Coyote was a passion project tackling the persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals and trafficking. Topics I feel are important to bring awareness to. It was an incredible and challenging film to be a part of.”
Speaking about why he opted to make the film, Murphy stated:
“When I first started working on the script for “Coyote”, the Syrian refugee crisis was at the top of my mind, however, in preproduction Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made our film, sadly, more relevant than ever.
With “Coyote” I wanted to paint a portrait where LGBTQ refugees were seen as the heroes they are. “Coyote” is ultimately a story about love. It hardly seems controversial to say that people should have the right to love whomever they wish, but as we’ve seen recently with Uganda passing legislation making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, now more than ever we need to push these types of stories to the forefront of the public conversation.”
Watch the trailer for Coyote below –
Bloody Flicks 