A Malayalam-language vampire action-thriller called Half is heading to the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness section, with a European sales agent already in place. The film marks an unusual path for Indian genre cinema into international markets.
As reported by Deadline, Best Friend Forever has boarded international sales rights to Half ahead of its world premiere in Toronto. The acquisition is notable because the film landed a European sales agent and a prestigious festival slot months before its home-market release in India, rather than after building a domestic track record first.
Half is directed and co-written by Samjad with Praveen Viswanath, who previously collaborated on the 2024 Malayalam psychological mystery-thriller Golam, which streamed on Amazon Prime. The film stars Ranjith Sajeev, Aiswarya Raj, Abbas and Amala Paul, alongside Srikanth Muruli. It is produced by Anne Sajeev and Sajeev P.K. for Kerala-based Fragrant Nature Film Creations.
The story follows twin half-blooded vampires played by Sajeev and Raj as they fight desert highway hijackers in what the filmmakers describe as a gory martial arts Indian western. Fight choreographer Very Tri Yulisman, whose credits include The Raid 2 and The Night Comes for Us, spent months training the cast to perform their own stunts and built custom camera rigs to capture the fight sequences in-camera.
Best Friend Forever co-founders Martin Gondre and Charles Bin said: "Half is a fresh take on two genre classics, seamlessly blending the revenge thriller and vampire film with expertly choreographed fight sequences and top-tier production value. The Midnight Madness crowd is in for a brutally fun ride. We can't wait to unleash it!"
Excel Entertainment, in association with AA Films, will present and distribute the film across North India. The release marks Excel's first collaboration with the Malayalam film industry.
Fragrant Nature Film Creations previously produced the Mohanlal-starring Pranayam in 2011 and the Sufi-themed romantic drama Qalb in 2024.
