Principal photography is starting next week on Ava Maria Safai’s debut feature, Foreigner.

The teen horror film will shoot in Vancouver and surrounding areas beginning Monday (Aug. 5) with filming to wrap on Aug. 28.

Written and directed by Safai, the story is set in the 2000s and follows an Iranian immigrant, played by Rose Dehgan, who becomes consumed by a dark entity the more she tries to assimilate to earn the approval of the high school queen bee (portrayed by Chloë MacLeod).

The film is produced by Nicco Graham, who collaborated with Safai on the 2023 short film Zip. Safai is executive producing alongside Nic Altobelli under her Naltobel Productions banner. The Harlequin Theatre Society is also a producer.

Financing for the project came together through Telefilm Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and Creative BC.

Foreigner was also awarded mentorship and sponsorship through Canadian horror and genre festival Blood in the Snow Film Festival in Toronto.

There was no distributor or sales agent attached at press time.

Photo by Bruce Yan; pictured (L-R): Rose Dehgan and Chloë MacLeod