By Variety | Created at 2026-08-08 20:21:06 | Updated at 2026-08-08 21:06:23
4 hours ago
John Henry Hinkel’s Atlanta-based Liaison Pictures, behind Charlie Kaufman‘s “How to Shoot a Ghost,” has joined France’s Because the Night Productions on the doc-feature “Behemoth Ann Holds a Seance,” currently taking part in Locarno’s Match Me! networking platform.
Directed by Isidore Bethel, Vicki Bethel and Daniel Hymanson, “Behemoth Ann Holds a Seance” remembers Arthur Douglas Thayer, an artist, designer, writer and educator who spent a lifetime crocheting creatures.
After his death, his wife Vicki and son Isidore organize an exhibit of his artworks, complete with explorable digestive tracts, fantastical appendages, and detachable eyeballs. Their efforts bring this singular artist’s legacy to millions of passengers traveling annually through the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta.
“After Doug’s death, filmmaking emerges as a remedy for Isidore, Vicki and Daniel,” explains Anne-Laure Berteau, founder of Because the Night Productions. “Shooting and editing become ways of rewriting their lives – of transforming sorrow into a story that transcends reality. Cinema here is a radiant force, connecting ghosts and the living, art and the everyday.”
Liaison Pictures’ recent credits include Kaufman’s “How to Shoot a Ghost,” which bowed last year in Venice, and “Coroner to the Stars,” by Ben Hethcoat and Keita Ideno, about former Los Angeles chief medical examiner Thomas Noguchi, which premiered at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival in L.A. Other works, such as “Shotplayer,” by Sam Shainberg, and Elena Parasco’s “I’m Not Home,” screened at SXSW and Tribeca, respectively.
Founded in 2023 by Hinkel and Andrew Ostapchenko, the boutique film production and finance company champions auteurs across all genres. Liaison Pictures serves not only as a bridge between capital and creatives, but as a comprehensive support system for artists to fully develop their stories and ideas, according to Hinkel.
The collaboration between Hinkel and the Bethels transcends normal industry partnerships.
“Liaison’s John Henry Hinkel has known Vicki and Isidore Bethel for decades; he was classmates with Isidore in high school and at Harvard,” Berteau notes.
“I relocated to my hometown of Atlanta to found my company,” Hinkel adds. “Not only does ‘Behemoth Ann Holds a Seance’ take place where I grew up, it also redefines the types of films that can be made here.”
Atlanta Airport hosted the exhibition of Thayer’s work, a selection of his crochet snakes, dollies and other creatures, from December 2023 to April 2024.
Presenting “Behemoth Ann Holds a Seance” at Match Me! in Locarno, the producers are looking for potential production, distribution and world sales partners.
