EXCLUSIVE: Mohit Ramchandani (City of Dreams) has co-written and will direct Asphyxia, a new survival thriller for Capstone Studios.
Daniel Negret and Ramchandani penned the script for the pic, to be produced by the Warner Bros-based Hunt Lowry (Last of the Mohicans, A Time to Kill). Capstone is fully financing with casting currently underway and production to kick off in Q1 2025. The project marks Ramchandani’s sophomore feature on the heels of City of Dreams, an enslaved child labor thriller that Roadside Attractions releases nationwide on August 30.
Asphyxia follows Dr. Joanna Miller, a marine biologist specializing in migratory and birthing patterns in whales, whose ship capsizes in a storm during a routine expedition, killing her entire crew. She’s left stranded in an air pocket inside the mess hall, trying to signal the patrolling coast guard rovers, when she comes across an unexpected survivor, the captain’s daughter. As she navigates her way to the young girl, every breath of air eats away at what little oxygen is left, blurring the lines between reality and delusion, and forcing her to confront a loss from the past.
In a statement to Deadline on the origins of the project, Ramchandani shared, “I suffered a terrible personal loss two years ago and creating the character of an emotionally avoidant being, who is forced through circumstance to the recesses of her psyche, where choosing vulnerability over intellect sets her free, provided me with the elixir of forgiveness that was crucial for my own healing. It’s been the most creatively fulfilling journey of my life and I’m truly honored to be working with Hunt and [Capstone CEO] Christian [Mercuri].”
Mercuri teased that “Dan and Mo have created a taut survival thriller that not only keeps you on the edge of your seat, but also takes you on a deeply emotional journey of what we need to let go of in order to survive.”
Added Lowry, “After watching Mo’s visionary filmmaking in his directorial debut “City of Dreams” and listening to his take for Asphyxia, it was clear to me that he is going to deliver something truly groundbreaking in an oversaturated genre.”
Ramchandani’s directorial debut City of Dreams tells the story of a young boy from Mexico trafficked across the border and sold to a sweatshop in downtown Los Angeles. Starring Alfredo Castro, Jason Patric and Golden Globe nominee Diego Calva, the film’s EPs include Tony Robbins, five-time Latin Grammy-winning singer Luis Fonsi, singer-song-writer Linda Perry, Academy Award winner Michael Phillips (The Sting, Taxi Driver) and Roma Oscar nom Yalitza Aparicio.
The CEO of Causeway Films, Negret served as an EP on A24’s horror smash Talk to Me, which currently has a sequel in development. Previously, he was the COO of Head Gear Films, where he exec produced The Protégé starring Michael Keaton and The Last Sentinel starring Kate Bosworth.
The financier and production company behind the Gerard Butler action thriller Kandahar, John Woo’s Silent Night starring Joel Kinnaman, and the survivor thriller franchise Fall, Capstone Studios’ upcoming projects include the horror thriller Don’t Move bound for Netflix; the crime comedy Riff Raff starring Lewis Pullman, Bill Murray, Jennifer Coolidge and more, which will soon bow out of TIFF; Dave Bautista actioner Trap House; and the thriller Black Box (Flight 298).
Ramchandani and Negret are represented by Gersh, which brokered deals with Capstone on behalf of the filmmakers.
