Director Robert Rippberger to Launch SIE Films Sales Unit in Berlin, Fronted by New Project ‘Monstrosity’
Award-winning filmmaker Robert Rippberger has announced the official expansion of his visionary development and production company, SIE Films, taking a leap into the world of film sales. After previously securing a handful of deals with international and domestic distributors, SIE Films is headed to the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival with the horror-thriller creature feature MONSTROSITY, currently in pre-production with Aaron Sims – a veteran character artist whose illustrated for Stranger Things, Ready Player One, IT, Wonder Woman, and X-Men: Apocalypse. Sabir Pirzada (Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Star Wars: The Bad Batch) will produce, with Rippberger producing and directing. Production will begin later this year at Morgan International with the team behind Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II.
After a young village boy goes missing in a mine, his father blames the strange family in the neighboring house, but far more is at play than the villagers realize. The family of misfits are actually a werewolf, a vampire, a zombie, and Frankenstein’s monster – all guarding the mine to keep evil barricaded behind a Hell Gate. After Satan himself lures the boy into the mine to try and unleash hell on Earth, it’s up to the family to rescue the boy and save humanity.
“Like superhero films, monster movies have an avid fanbase,” says Rippberger. “We’re immersing the Vampire, Werewolf, Zombie, and Frankenstein’s monster into the 21st century, united much like The Avengers. Our intentional out-of-the-box evolution flips these characters, and the horror genre on its head, giving fans something they’ve never seen before. We look forward to bringing Monstrosity to big screens worldwide.”
“I am thrilled to be part of Robert's film,” added Sims. “My creative team is beyond excited to add new twists to characters that have been around for so long."
Rippberger recently wrapped production directing the Frankie Muniz led sci-fi thriller RENNER, and also produced How To Build a Truth Engine, a documentary executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, which will be world premiering at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival. Ripperger was lead producer on the stop-motion animated film The Inventor directed by Academy Award® nominee Jim Capobianco (Ratatouille), starring Daisy Ridley, Stephen Fry, Marion Cotillard, and Matt Berry. The film was nominated for an Annie® during its world premiere at the 2023 Annecy Film Festival before releasing in U.S. theaters in September 2023, and becoming the number one film in France during it’s theatrical release in January 2024. The Inventor was also named one of the Top 10 Best Animated Films of 2023 by The Wrap. Previously, Rippberger directed the Booboo Stewart led horror/thriller Those Who Walk Away, and the Award-winning drama Strive starring Danny Glover. Rippberger is repped by Established Artists and Millennial PR.
