Producers Julie Waters and Evan Dyal of Watermark Media have boarded Snare, the psychological body-horror thriller from Emmy-nominated filmmaker and actress Sonja O’Hara (Cottagecore) and writer/director Adam Hoelzel (Tender). Waters and Dyal join as executive producers, with Watermark Media coming aboard as a production company.
The film is currently in post-production following a Los Angeles shoot earlier this spring. Executive producer and Primetime Emmy nominee Jeffrey Soros of the Los Angeles Media Fund boarded the project earlier this year, as previously reported by Deadline.
The move marks Watermark Media’s latest bet on filmmaker-driven independent work. Waters produced the Sundance hits Oh, Hi!, written and directed by Sophie Brooks, which was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, and Mad Bills to Pay, from debut filmmaker Joel Alfonso Vargas, which was acquired by Oscilloscope Projects. She also produced Act One, directed by Sophia Takal, which premiered at Tribeca earlier this year.
Waters’ commitment to emerging female filmmakers also extends beyond Watermark. Before moving into independent film producing, she spent more than a decade in the studio system, most recently as Head of TV and Film Development at Rachel Brosnahan’s Scrap Paper Pictures, and previously as a Vice President at Temple Hill Entertainment.
“Snare is a bold, mesmerizing, and unforgettable film that I’m thrilled to champion at Watermark Media,” said Waters. “Sonja has crafted an emotionally raw and visually ambitious experience. From the start, I was drawn to its singular voice, daring premise, and exploration of psychological obsession and vulnerability. Sonja’s vision shines in every frame, and I’m excited to partner with her team to bring this project to audiences.”
O’Hara co-directs and stars as a brilliant but emotionally volatile mycologist who agrees to undergo an experimental treatment designed to erase romantic attachment after being drawn back into the orbit of her seductive, self-destructive ex, played by MARS (Presumed Innocent). The cast also includes Wicked breakout Marissa Bode, Mission: Impossible’s Greg Tarzan Davis, Robert Longstreet (The Haunting of Hill House), Omar Sharif Jr. (11th Hour), Mark St. Cyr (The Menu), and Kirby Johnson (Degrees). The film was produced by Raechel Zarzynski (Tender) and shot by cinematographer Antonio Cisneros (Cookie Queens).
Developed through the Tribeca Vital Stories Lab and backed by Film Independent, Snare draws from O’Hara’s own experience navigating breast cancer, filtered through a surreal, genre-bending lens. O’Hara and Hoelzel co-wrote the screenplay and share directing duties.
“Julie has an incredible instinct for filmmaker-driven work, particularly for queer stories,” said O’Hara. “Snare is a deeply personal film, but it’s also strange, wild, and ambitious, and Julie immediately understood both sides of it. I’m thrilled to have someone who champions bold female filmmakers and singular voices joining us for this next phase.”
Up next for Hoelzel is XYZ’s Homestead, which he will direct from his own script. O’Hara was recently selected as one of a dozen filmmakers for the upcoming Gotham Film Week market, whose past participants include Robert Eggers (The Witch) and Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You).
O’Hara is represented by Anonymous Content, Verve and Fox Rothschild. Hoelzel is represented by Range Media Partners and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark.