Fearfolks Acquires Global Sales Rights for ‘Cocoa Doll’ Featuring Grace Duah from ‘Gossip Girl’
Fearfolks Acquires Global Sales Rights to Body Horror Film Cocoa Doll
Bangkok-based genre label Fearfolks, co-founded by Hans Audric B. Estialbo and Benetone Films, has secured global sales rights to the body horror film Cocoa Doll, featuring Gossip Girl star Grace Duah.
This project marks the directorial debut of Muslim-Nigerian filmmaker Jumai Yusuf. The screenplay has previously gained recognition on the Muslim List—an initiative supported by the Black List, MPAC Hollywood, and the Pillars Fund—as well as on the WScripted Cannes Screenplay List, presented by Mubi.
Cocoa Doll tells the gripping story of a Black Muslim woman, portrayed by Duah, who is engaged by the affluent McNeil family. As she learns their dark secret of transforming former employees into living dolls, she realizes she must escape before becoming part of their collection.
The film’s production team includes Jake Casey of The Dazey Phase (Heightened Scrutiny), Jonathan Unger of Unger Media (Mysterious Ways), and Steven Adams of Alta Global Media, who has past collaborations with the Paris-based VFX house BUF on Life of Pi. LA-based Zoic Studios will serve as the VFX supervisor. Production is slated to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026.
“At Fearfolks, we are interested in films that push narrative boundaries, and Cocoa Doll is a great example of how personal stories can translate to films that speak to a wider audience,” said Estialbo, the CEO of Fearfolks.
Yusuf elaborated, stating, “While the film features the literal transformation of people into dolls, it’s also a powerful metaphor for the objectification of Black women and the ways society feels entitled to their bodies, their minds, and their lived experiences. At its core, Cocoa Doll is an inherently feminine horror story that explores monstrous femininity, from the grotesque process of creating these dolls to the extreme lengths women will go to in the pursuit of beauty, perfection, and control.”
Unger added that Cocoa Doll "shines a light on the dark underbelly of some of our most popular pop culture touchstones and gives voice to the Muslim community through a powerful female lead."
Yusuf’s previous work includes the Oscar-qualified short film Nate & John, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, earned a nomination for the 56th NAACP Image Awards, and won the Gold House Cultural Impact Award at the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Fearfolks, partly owned by Thailand’s Benetone Films, is also actively developing a slate of Thai horror and other genre films, while handling distribution for A24, Neon, and The Horror Section titles in Thailand. In collaboration with Benetone, the company is currently producing the Thai horror film Cher, written by Patrick Graham (Ghoul, Betaal) and starring Pae Arak and Sukollawat Kanarot.
