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“The Possessed,” the third feature by Bosnian-Dutch writer/director Ena Sendijarević, has completed casting as the film moves toward principal photography, with a trio of hot talents boarding the project. Suzy Bemba,
Khalil Gharbia and Ji-Min Park, whose credits span the spectrum from festival favorites to prestige television and commercial English-language projects, have signed on to join the previously announced Ariane Labed for “The Possessed.”
The film is set in 17th-century Europe, where two women fleeing the witch hunts create a refuge at the edge of the world, until a man becomes their unwilling captive and sparks a dangerous love triangle.
“The Possessed” is being pitched as a wildly sensual, feminist drama carried by the chemistry of its ensemble, with contemporary political implications that transcend its period setting. Story details remain under wraps, but Variety can reveal that Labed will incarnate the role of “The Midwide,” Bemba will play “The Baroness,” Garbia “The Shepherd,” and Park “The Director.”
The shoot will take place in Spain, between the Barcelona area and the raw, spectacular landscapes of the Teruel region and Bardenas Reales. Based on the casting and the chemistry of early rehearsals, Sendijarević has reworked the script and will now shoot “The Possessed” in the French language.
Sendijarević commented: “I very much look forward to building a world with this remarkable group of actors, who I see as complementing one another, but also challenging each other to push into new territory. They share a fearlessness and curiosity that I find essential to this film. With Suzy Bemba, Khalil Gharbia and Ji Min Park joining Ariane Labed, I am sure that ‘The Possessed,’ my third feature film and my first in the French language, is on the path to becoming something singular.”
Bemba rose to prominence with her performance as Flora in the acclaimed series “L’Opéra” and appeared in “The Return” by Catherine Corsini, screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Her international credits include “Poor Things” by Yorgos Lanthimos as well as “Drift,” directed by Anthony Chen and starring Cynthia Erivo. She was selected as one of Unifrance’s “10 Talents to Watch,” and named a César “Revelation” and France’s representative in the European Shooting Stars program at the 2024 Berlinale. Most recently, Bemba has starred in “Le Sens des choses” for HBO Max, “A Second Life” by Laurent Slama and in “Le Joueur,” the upcoming film by Elie Wajeman, alongside Pio Marmaï. Bemba has also been cast in the international action thriller “Cliffhanger,” alongside Pierce Brosnan and Lily James.
Gharbia’s credits include BBC One drama “Two Weeks in August,” the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Towards Zero,” directed by Sam Yates, opposite Matthew Rhys and Anjelica Huston and the acclaimed Starz/Sky series “Mary & George,” alongside Julianne Moore. Gharbia’s breakout lead performance was in Zeno Graton’s “The Lost Boys,” which premiered at the Berlinale. Like Bemba, Gharbia is likewise an alumnus of the César Academy’s annual “Revelations” selection, recognizing the most promising new acting talent in French-language cinema. Additional feature credits include François Ozon’s “Peter von Kant” and François Guerrar’s “Barbès, Little Algérie.”
Park is an artist and actor born in Seoul, South Korea who lives and works in Paris. Park starred in “Return to Seoul” by Davy Chou, which played at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and was also named among the “Revelations” at the 2024 César Awards. That same year, she was nominated for a Lumière Award, the New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and a Best New Performer Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Further credits include Apple TV series “La Maison” and three 2025 Cannes Film Festival selections: “Love Me Tender” by Anna Cazenave Cambet, “A Private Life” by Rebecca Zlotowski and “The Little Sister” by Hafsia Herzi, which screened in competition. Park was back at Cannes in 2026, where she presented “Orange Flavored Wedding” by Christophe Honoré, and served as a member of the official jury for the Short Films and La Cinef sections.
Alongside her acting, Park is established as a multidisciplinary visual artist whose work has been exhibited at major French and international venues. In 2026, she presented a solo exhibition at the Pony Gallery in Montreuil.
Labed is a French actress who first broke out with Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Attenberg,” earning best actress honors at the Venice Film Festival and Festival Premier Plan in Angers in 2010. She has since carved out a reputation as one of Europe’s most distinctive screen presences. Her credits include collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos (“Alps,” “The Lobster”), Philippe Grandrieux (“Malgré la nuit”), Justin Kurzel (“Assassin’s Creed”), Lucie Borleteau (“Fidelio l’odyssée d’Alice”), for which she won the best actress award at the Locarno Film Festival and was nominated for a best upcoming César Award. Other film credits include Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight,” Garth Davis’ “Mary Magdalene,” and “The Souvenir” and “The Souvenir Part II,” directed by Joanna Hogg.
Sendijarević broke out internationally with her idiosyncratic feature debut “Take Me Somewhere Nice” (2019), which was selected for ACID in Cannes and won the Special Jury Prize at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. She previously attracted attention with her short “Import” (2016), which premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and was the Dutch entry to the Oscars. Her second feature film, “Sweet Dreams” (2023), premiered in Locarno’s main competition and won the Pardo for best performance, and was again the Netherlands official submission to the Oscars. In 2024 she was selected as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch and one of IndieWire’s 17 Female Directors to Watch.
“The Possessed” is produced by Layla Meijman and Maarten van der Ven (Studio Ruba), in co-production with Sendijarević (Eklips), Miriam Porté and Gerard Marginedas (Distinto Films) and Martien Vlietman (VPRO). Amra Bakšić Čamo (SCCA/pro.ba) serves as associate producer. Financing comes from the Netherlands Film Fund, the Netherlands Production Incentive, COBO, ICEC, the Spanish Tax Rebate, Creative Europe MEDIA and Uniqa. The project was previously presented at Les Arcs and CineMart.
