Cameras are rolling in New York City for Serena, a new sci-fi thriller being directed by Rob Alicea (The Hat Man) in his feature debut. The cast includes Andi Matichak (Halloween Trilogy, Son), Steven Strait (The Expanse, Magic City), Ashleigh Murray (Riverdale, The Other Black Girl),Tyrone Marshall Brown (Power, Love Is), and María Gabriela González (Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa, Fantasy Island) along with actress Nicole Gut.
Jonathan Benecke and P.T. Hylton penned the script which follows Holly (Murray), a tech engineer desperate to launch her company into the future with resounding success. A CEO commissions her to build her an AI model, with the aim of testing it before its implementation. Down-on-his-luck and funds, former rock star, Chris Sadowsky (Strait), is asked to be one of the testers — with devastating repercussions. The AI model surfaces in the form of ‘Serena’ (Matichak), billed otherwise as a simple tool which, much to Chris’s chagrin, proves to be a soothingly sinister weapon of destruction, all while being void of conscience or heart.
Jerry Careccio is producing Serena via Bad Idea, next to Scarlett Camargo of Leaving Normal Productions and Brodrick Haygood from Moon Howler, with casting by Sig De Miguel & Stephen Vincent of S2 Casting.
“In an era where technology is seamlessly woven into our lives, our film serves as both a gripping thriller and a stark warning. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence holds incredible promise, but it also presents certain dangers we can’t afford to ignore. With a killer script and under Rob’s human vision, SERENA aims to shine a light on the dilemmas, vulnerabilities, and costs of an unchecked A.I. revolution,” said Careccio.
Alicea is an award-winning Latino Filmmaker with a body of work that includes writing, directing, and producing numerous independent film, documentary, commercial, and music videos. While he is best known for creating the comedy series Adulthood (2017 HBO New York Latino Film Festival), it was his genre turn with supernatural thriller short The Hat Man (Leaving Normal Productions) that led to Alicea being one of the most sought-after directors in horror. Most recently, Alicea penned the psychological horror script Just Smile with Alexander Vargas for Luz Films – producers of 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner In the Summers. Alicea also serves as the Co-Founder of Latinos In Film + Entertainment (L.I.F.E.).
Matichak is repped by Innovative Artists, Strand Entertainment and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Strait is repped by Gersh and Circle M+P. Murray is repped by Innovative Artists and G & G Talent. Brown is repped by Gersh, Luber Roklin Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. González is repped by CESD Talent Agency and AC Management. Alicea is repped by Zero Gravity.