– The German filmmaker’s first English-language feature boasts an international cast starring Helena Zengel and Sandra Guldberg Kampp
Sandra Guldberg Kampp in Bloody Tennis
After releasing Rave On in 2025, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Viktor Jakovleski, German filmmaker Nikias Chryssos is now set to present his latest feature, Bloody Tennis, out of competition at the upcoming 60th Locarno Film Festival. This is his third horror thriller (after The Bunker, selected in Berlinale’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino strand, and A Pure Place), as well as his first English-language project. Once again, Chryssos is setting some of the film’s action outside of Germany, having chosen to shoot in Gran Canaria back in October 2024. Additional shooting also took place in Cologne, Germany.
The title of the film is especially revealing: Sophie is accepted into a prestigious tennis academy where competition is very fierce. In addition to coping with her colleagues, she soon finds herself having to contend with sinister undercurrents at the boarding school. At some point, she’ll be forced to choose between fulfilling her dream to become a successful tennis player and remaining a good person.
Chryssos wrote the script for Blood Tennis, as well as directing the film, combining his interest in the aesthetics of tennis with the microcosmos of boarding schools. The remote location of the school further enhances the menacing and isolating nature of the story. Behind the cameras, the filmmaker worked with German cinematographer Constantin Campean (The Protected Men, Grand Jeté) for the very first time, whilst reuniting with editor Anselm Koneffke following their previous collaboration on Rave On.
In front of the cameras, the film boasts a predominantly female, international cast. The main character is played by Danish actress Sandra Guldberg Kampp (Wildland, Electric Child), who’ll be supported by Elina Löwensohn (recently seen in She Is Conann, among other titles, and appearing in Mi amor this year). Among the other members of the cast are French actresses Tracy Gotoas (this year in The American Dream and Guru), Lily Taïeb (How to Be a Good Wife) and Lucie Zhang (Paris, 13th District, No One Will Know), alongside German actress Helena Zengel (Transamazonia, System Crasher). They’re joined by two veteran male actors, Belgian actor Vincent Roméo (Good Favour, Death Will Come) and Croatian-Danish actor Zlatko Burić (of Triangle of Sadness fame, and this year seen in Home).
Bloody Tennis was produced by the Cologne-based production company Augenschein, led by Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo. Chryssos’ new feature will form part of a diverse portfolio of international productions, which also includes fellow German Jan-Ole Gerster‘s latest work Islands, as well as The Weight by Padraic McKinley and Mother Mary by David Lowery. The film was co-produced by Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion as well as by the German broadcasting station ZDF. The film was funded by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and DFFF Deutscher Filmförderfonds. Port-au-Prince are in charge of German distribution while The Playmaker are handling world sales.
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