Cuckoo Archives -

11/06/202627/06/2026

CUCKOO

by TILMAN SINGER

Mystery Thriller / Horror

Reluctantly, 17-year-old Gretchen leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in the German Alps with his new family. Arriving at their future residence, they are greeted by Mr. König, her father’s boss, who takes an inexplicable interest in Gretchen’s mute half-sister Alma. Something doesn’t seem right in this tranquil vacation paradise. Gretchen is plagued by strange noises and bloody visions until she discovers a shocking secret that also concerns her own family.

CUCKOO - Official Trailer

FBW rating Besonders wertvoll / Especially valuable

Status: Streaming and available on DVD and BluRay

Writer & Director: TILMAN SINGER

Following his festival sensation LUZ, German director Tilman Singer has once again succeeded in creating an atmospheric and visually outstanding horror trip with an original plot and perfidious twists. The film, shot on 35 mm, features EUPHORIA’s star Hunter Schafer alongside a brilliant and terrifying Dan Stevens.

Financed by NEON / Pre- and Production Support by Film und Medien Stiftung NRW, Production Support by HessenFilm und Medien and DFFF

In collaboration with Josh Rosenbaum and Ken Kao (WAYPOINT Entertainment) and Thor Bradwell.

Press:

LOS ANGELES TIMES by Katie Walsh – 09 Aug. 2024
NEW YORK TMES by Jeannette Catsoulis – 08 Aug. 2024
VARIETY by Jessica Kiang – 16 Feb. 2024
SCREEN DAILY by Wendi Ide – 16 Feb. 2024
THE WRAP by Ben Croll – 16 Feb. 2024
FIRST SHOWING by Alex Billington – 16 Feb. 2024
TIME OUT by Stephan A. Russel – 21 Feb. 2024

Awards, Nominations & Honours:

@ GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS

Nominated in the category OUTSTANDING FILM – Wide Theatrical Release

@ Verband der deutschen Filmkritik (German Film Critics Association)

DoP PAUL FALTZ nominated in the category BEST PICTURE COMPOSITION

@ Film Independent Spirit Awards 2025

HUNTER SCHAFER nominated for BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

@ Hessischer Filmpreis 2024

Nomination in the category BEST FILM

Festivals:

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – Midnight Shivers
Thessaloniki International Film Festival – Round Midnight
Sitges International Film Festival- Sitges Collection
Fantasia Festival Montreal – Selection
New Horizons – Midnight Madness
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – Bucheon Choise
LAVAZZA IncluCity Festival – The Dark Side
Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival – World Panorama
Imagine Film Festival Amsterdam – Club Imagine
Raindance Film Festival / Opening Film – Best International Feature
Transilvania International Film Festival – Full Moon
Sydney Film Festival – Freak Me Out
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival – Competition
Crossing Europe / Opening Film – Night Sight
Trento Film Festival
Calgary Underground Film Festival – Competition
Lichterfest Frankfurt – Future German Cinema
Overlook Film Festival / Opening Film – Competition
SXSW / US Premiere – Narrative Spotlight
Berlin International Film Festival / World Premiere – Special Gala

17/01/202529/01/2025

CUCKOO DoP Paul Faltz nominated for the German Film Critics’ Awards

CUCKOO DoP Paul Faltz has been nominated for the German Film Critics’ Awards 2024 in the category Best Picture Composition!

17/01/25

Thanks to the selectors from the German Film Critics’ Awards who recognised Paul’s work as exceptional!

We agree and think this nomination is well deserved and all our fingers are crossed.

Paul Faltz orchestrating
Paul Faltz on top of his crew
Paul Faltz & Director Tilman Singer
Paul Faltz in the center of the film team
Dan Stevens
Paul Faltz & Hunter Schafer
Paul Faltz & Greta Fernandez
Greta Fernandez
Paul Faltz, Klaus “Grube” Venn (gaffer), Tilman Singer, Kalin Morrow (Hooded Women) & Hunter Schafer
Paul Faltz capturing the famous bicycle scene with Hunter Schafer
Paul Faltz & Team preparing the library collapse
Jan Bluthardt making a decision
Hunter Schafer
Dan Stevens, Mila Lieu, Hunter Schafer and Jan Bluthardt
Paul Faltz the Nominee !

“It’s the idea that not everything is hiding in the shadows in a horror film, it can also be really scary if it’s really bright and this neon pops everywhere.” Paul Faltz said in this interesting interview he gave to nofilmschool.

And here is the great team which supported Paul during shooting CUCKOO, which are: First Assistant Camera ROLF ROSENDAHL – Second Assistant Camera ALTAN ÖZCAN – Second Assistant Camera Hesse MAXIMILIAN PRINZ – Steadicam Operator Camera JÖRG SÜSS – Operator Second Unit & B-Cam NICOLAY GUTSCHER – First Assistants B-Cam JÖRG GÜNTNER, THOMAS BADER, MATTHIAS FUCHS & LEO SIKSTEL – Second Assistant B-Cam LUKAS KLEINT – Additional Loader B-Cam MICHEL BESL – Vtr / Video Operator & Second Assistant Camera Second Unit FINN WEEGE – Vtr / Video Operator SVEN WECKER – Video Operator MORITZ VETTER – Camera Trainee Camera HANNA KORTUS – Assistant Tests LEO SIKSTEL.

06/12/202413/12/2024

Best Lead Performance nomination for Hunter Schafer

HUNTER SCHAFER nominated Best Lead Performance

Hunter Schafer has been nominated for BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE for the Independent Spirit Awards for her first lead performance as Gretchen in CUCKOO by Tilman Singer.

06/12/24

To celebrate this amazing, and so well deserved, nomination, we have put together some BTS photos from Felix Dickinson and Monica Lek of this astonishing actress throughout the movie.

First day of shooting
TILMAN SINGER & HUNTER SCHAFER
GRETA FERNÁNDEZ & HUNTER SCHAFER
DAN STEVENS, MILA LIEU, HUNTER SCHAFER and JAN BLUTHARDT
MILA LIEU & HNTER SCHAFER
KALIN MORROW, HUNTER SCHAFER, TILMAN SINGER & ASTRID BERGÈS-FRISBEY

We love Hunter and cross our fingers !

08/11/202411/11/2024

CUCKOO in Midnight Shivers PÖFF

After THE MAN FROM ROME had been in PÖFF Competition last year, this year CUCKOO will be screened in the MIDNIGHT SHIVERS section.

08/11/24

Germany is the focus country this year at Northern Europe’s largest film festival and the associated Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event platform.

We are delighted that CUCKOO with three screenings in Midnight Shivers is part of this year’s edition. Other films are ‘Crocodile Tears’, ‘Dying’, ‘In Love, Yours Hilde’, ‘Greetings from Mars’, ‘Johatsu’, as well as ‘Riefenstahl’.

04/11/202411/11/2024

Entertainment is not a bad word

In 2017, the couple founded the company Fiction Park – with the catchy motto: “Entertainment is not a bad word”.

04/11/24

Sincere thanks to Rüdiger Sturm for this portrait of Markus Halberschmidt and to GERMAN FILMS for approaching him. And to photographer Bernd Nörig for this this great photo.

In autumn 2016, Markus Halberschmidt and his partner Maria Tsigka spent a lot of time chilling on their living room sofa, watching an entire series. Then, suddenly, the couple said to each other: “Why don’t we do something like this?” … This joint realisation had its consequences, ultimately leading to up-and-coming German director Tilman Singer landing in the top 10 of the American cinema charts with his arthouse horror CUCKOO in August 2024.

👉 Here you can read the full little portrait

Looking forward to hopefully bring with our FICTION PARK more entertaining projects to the audiences in this world !