Milena Rimassa will launch Catalytic Films at the 2026 American Film Market with a four-feature slate. The independent company will focus on production, financing and sales, and its lineup includes Something’s In There, a supernatural horror thriller starring James Franco.
Written and directed by Joel Harber, the film also features Peter Gold, Elsie Hewitt, Raoul Max Trujillo, Rob Moran, Paul Ben-Victor, Jayson Warner Smith and Alexander Kane. It follows aspiring filmmaker Billy Hobbs, who takes a night-watchman job at a film studio. As strange events and deaths unfold, he must work out what is happening before he becomes a victim himself.
The slate also includes Boundaries, directed by Kirandeep Karnati. The drama follows a group of predominantly South Asian women in suburban California who form a cricket team and find friendship and solidarity while challenging cultural expectations and personal limitations.
Mahesh Pailoor directs Paper Flowers, an inspirational drama about USC graduate Shalin Shah. After leaving his Indian American family and Taiwanese American girlfriend to volunteer with the Peace Corps, a rare cancer diagnosis brings him home and reshapes his perspective on love, gratitude and the time he has left. The cast includes Kapil Talwalkar, Olivia Liang, Karan Soni, Tom Everett Scott, Faran Tahir and Meera Simhan. The film has received recognition at several festivals, including those in Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Sedona and Chandler. It is available to North American viewers on Angel Studios’ streaming service, while Catalytic Films is licensing the remaining worldwide rights.
The fourth title, We Are Never Alone, is a docudrama directed and scored by Michel Pascal and produced by Stephen Powers. It explores human connection, spirituality and music through stories of healing and hope, featuring Michael Beckwith, Gabriella Wright and Temple Hayes. The film has received Gold awards from the International Gold Awards, New York Movie Awards and Milan Gold Awards.
Catalytic Films will also enter a strategic alliance with Unni Rav’s Visual Narrative Films. Rimassa will serve as executive producer across VNF’s slate, while Catalytic will handle global distribution and international sales for the company’s productions.
Rimassa said she founded Catalytic after decades of work in international distribution, production and entertainment finance, with the aim of connecting storytelling with the commercial expertise and relationships needed to reach audiences worldwide. She added that the alliance with VNF extends that approach into development and production.
Sources: Deadline.