Blumhouse Boards Beth De Araujo's SXSW Debut, Soft & Quiet
In the mood for an edge-of-the-seat thriller backed by Blumhouse? You're in for a treat: Jason Blum's horror-centric company has boarded Beth de Araújo's ("I Want To Marry A Creative Jewish Girl," "Initiation," "Brown Bag") SXSW entry "Soft & Quiet." The thriller will be part of the film festival's Narrative Feature Competition on March 12, 2022, and is Araújo's feature-length film debut. "Soft & Quiet" has been officially branded as a Blumhouse feature, and SXSW will be hosting the film's global premiere. The official SXSW synopsis for "Soft & Quiet" is as follows:
Playing out in real time, SOFT & QUIET is a runaway train that follows a single afternoon in the life of Emily, an elementary school teacher. Emily organizes the inaugural club mixer of like-minded women, and she indoctrinates them into her sisterhood. When they all decide to move the meeting to Emily's house, they stop at the local store to pick up refreshments, where an altercation breaks out between two sisters and the club that spirals into a volatile chain of events.
A tense, anxiety-inducing thriller
Araújo expressed her excitement for the project, especially its association with the Blumhouse name, which has been synonymous with daring, under-explored narratives in the horror genre:
"I'm thrilled Jason and the Blumhouse team responded so strongly to Soft & Quiet. They are such a recognizable and trusted brand for audiences. Blumhouse has consistently put out films that are daring and resonate with viewers. As a filmmaker, I'm very excited for the road ahead with them."
Although the plot details do not divulge much in terms of the film's overarching look and feel, Blumhouse founder Jason Blum commented about the tense, thought-provoking nature of the plot:
"Beth's film kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. It made me uncomfortable, tense, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I first watched it. I'm grateful that Bea Sequeira on the Blumhouse team identified it early. Beth is a filmmaker we hope to work with for a long time."
"Soft & Quiet" stars Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican, Melissa Paulo, Cissy Ly, and Jon Beavers. Araújo, alongside Josh Peters, Saba Zerehi, and Joshua Beirne-Golden are serving as producers. Blum is executive producing along with Robina Riccitiello and Bea Sequeira. CAA Media Finance and Blumhouse will be selling the feature at SXSW.
The SXSW Film Festival will be taking place between March 11 and March 20, 2022.