News

German-born filmmaker Edward Berger told UK exhibitors his Bafta-winning papal thrillerConclavemay have been lost had it landed on a streaming platform. Instead, the film has grossed$110m to date at the worldwide box office.

“It might have very well disappeared on Netflix,” said Berger at the UK Cinema Association’s annual conference in London on March 18.

“People are talking, nothing big happens in the first five minutes, you need patience, you need to lock people in the cinema to watch it.

“We need to put people in the movie theatre to give them the opportunity to engage, people are much more impatient by nature.

Borat star Maria Bakalova will board a bus with Peter Mullan for the single-location thriller, No Way Off.

Veteran Scottish actor Peter Mullan is set to lead single location thriller No Way Off for Altitude, starring opposite Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm’s standout performer, Maria Bakalova.

Downton Abbey director Brian Kelly will make the film, based on a screenplay by Gaby Hill, who recently wrote crime thriller series We Hunt Together. Matthew James Wilkinson will produce for his Stigma Films banner.

The premise sounds, quite frankly, amazing: a single mother and her baby son find themselves trapped on a moving bus drvien by a mask-wearing maniac. Also, it’s set at Christmas.

The synopsis reads as follows:

Inspired by single-location thrillers such as The Shallows, Buried and Crawl, No Way Off is set on Christmas Eve and revolves around Laura, a young mother who waits at a bus stop with her infant son.

‘The Pearl Comb’, written and directed by Ali Cook, marks his directorial debut and continues Ali Cook’s creative journey as a film maker.

It follows the film festival success of ‘The Cunning Man’, written by Ali Cook.

‘The Cunning Man’ earned significant acclaim, winning 33 awards and screening at over 88 international film festivals, including FrightFest, the Oscar-qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival, the Oscar-qualifying Cinequest, the BAFTA & BIFA-qualifying Norwich Film Festival, the BAFTA-qualifying Underwire Festival, Morbido, the BAFTA- qualifying Aesthetica Festival, the Oscar-qualifying In The Palace International Film Festival, and the BAFTA-qualifying Carmarthen Bay International Film Festival.

In 2019, ‘The Cunning Man’ was also BAFTA long listed and was the runner-up for the prestigious Méliès d’Argent award at the Abertoir Horror Festival.

Set in Victorian Cornwall, ‘The Pearl Comb’ follows a humble fisherman’s wife who becomes the first person ever to cure someone of tuberculosis, catching the attention of the medical profession.

Bodies Bodies Bodies lead Maria Bakalova is set to star alongside Peter Mullan (Baghead) in the single-location suspense thriller No Way Off, per Variety. The location? A bus that is driving into the middle of nowhere on Christmas Eve.

No Way Off, written by Gaby Hull, will be directed by Brian Kelly.

Bakalova will play Laura, a tired young mother traveling alone with her infant son on Christmas Eve. “When the bus pulls up, its driver is wearing a latex Santa mask. Laura climbs aboard, collapsing into her seat. Exhausted and stressed, she soon falls asleep. When Laura wakes, night has fallen. The bus is now hurtling along a motorway, miles off its usual route. Apart from the sleeping baby, she is the only passenger left on board. She can’t outrun the driver – she’ll have to outsmart him.“

“My dreams have come true. No Way Off has a...

Academy Award nominee Maria Bakalova and multi award-winning screen veteran Peter Mullan are set to star in No Way Off, a thriller about a young mother trapped on a bus with her baby after being abducted by its sinister driver.

Altitude will be seeking international partners to join the ride as they introduce the film at AFM this week in Las Vegas.

Written by Gaby Hull, the film will be helmed by award-winning director, Brian Kelly and produced by Matthew James Wilkinson for his Stigma Films banner. No Way Off has its cinematic roots in Spielberg’s Duel, Panic Room and single-location thrillers such as The Shallows, Buried and Crawl, the announcement said.

“My dreams have come true. No...

Maria Bakalova, who last played Ivana Trump in “The Apprentice,” will star opposite Peter Mullan in “No Way Off,” a suspense thriller which Altitude is presenting to international buyers at the American Film Market this week in Las Vegas.

The movie is written by Gaby Hull and will be directed by Brian Kelly. Matthew James Wilkinson (“Yesterday”) is producing for his Stigma Films banner.

Inspired by single-location thrillers such as “The Shallows,” “Buried” and “Crawl,” the movie is set on Christmas Eve and revolves around Laura, a young mother who waits at a bus stop with her infant son. “When the bus pulls up, its driver is wearing a latex Santa mask. Laura climbs aboard, collapsing into her seat. Exhausted and stressed, she soon fall asleep. When Laura wakes, night has fallen. The bus is now hurtling along a motorway, miles off its usual route. Apart from the sleeping baby,...

The Apprentice’sMaria Bakalova and Peter Mullan are to star in No Way Off, a suspense thriller directed by UK filmmaker Brian Kelly, and being introduced to buyers by Altitude at the AFM this week.

On Christmas Eve, a young mother and her infant son wait at a bus stop. When her bus pulls up, its driver is wearing a latex Santa mask. When the woman wakes up, she realises she has been abducted.

It’s produced by Matthew James Wilkinson for his Stigma Films banner, and written by Gaby Hull.

Kelly’s credits include directing episodes of Downton Abbey,...

Seeing his father's face looking back at him through the narrow confines of the air vent in his bedroom was unnerving in itself, but what made it even more terrifying for young Isaac is the foreboding fact that his dad recently died in a car accident. That's just one of many nightmarish images and question-raising scenarios witnessed by a boy and his struggling stepmother when their isolated postmodern house by the woods is stalked by something wearing an all-too-familiar face in Daddy's Head.

With the new horror film now streaming on Shudder, Daily Dead had the great pleasure of talking with Benjamin Barfoot about writing, directing, editing, and composing the music for Daddy's Head, which explores the effects of family-fueled grief and expertly walks the line between ambiguous horror and straightforward scares, leaving you wondering what exactly is real until the film's pivotal final frame.

You can watch our in-depth interview with Benjamin Barfoot below,...

Filmmaker Benjamin Barfoot brings eerie atmosphere and new nightmare fuel in the form of a terrifying creature in Daddy’s Head, and an exclusive new clip introduces just one of many bone-chilling scares.

Daddy’s Head debuts exclusively on Shudder on October 11.

In the film, “In the wake of his father’s untimely death, a young boy is left in the eerie solitude of a sprawling country estate with his newly widowed stepmother. Struggling to navigate the overwhelming task of parenthood, his stepmother grows distant, leaving their fragile bond at risk of collapse. Amidst the growing tension, the boy begins to hear unsettling sounds echoing through the corridors and is soon haunted by the presence of a grotesque creature bearing a disturbingly familiar resemblance to his late father.

“As the boy’s warnings are dismissed as the imagination of a grieving child, the sinister entity tightens its grip on their crumbling lives.

The official trailer for the upcoming psychological horror film Daddy's Head just dropped, and we're even more pumped up to see this movie after watching it. It's set to have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, followed by a streaming release on Shudder on Friday, Oct. 11.

Daddy's Head was written and helmed by Benjamin Barfoot. He previously directed the horror-comedy Double Date as well as a couple of episodes of the British current affairs documentary programme Panorama. In addition, Matthew James Wilkinson and Patrick Tolan of Stigma Films produced this horror flick.

Rupert Turnbull as Isaac and Julia Brown as Laura in Daddy's Head. Courtesy of Rob Baker Ashton. A Shudder Release.

After his father passes away, a young boy named Isaac is left in the care of his grieving stepmother, Laura, since he has no next of kin. Together, they reside in a large country estate...

In the wake of the film’s World Premiere at Fantastic Fest this Sunday, September 22, Benjamin Barfoot’s horror movie Daddy’s Head is coming to Shudder on October 11.

Watch the official trailer for Daddy’s Head below.

“Daddy’s Head is a very important film for me as it intertwines personal feelings about family, grief and trauma with my desire to experiment with the horror genre,” Barfoot previews.

In the film, “In the wake of his father’s untimely death, a young boy is left in the eerie solitude of a sprawling country estate with his newly widowed stepmother. Struggling to navigate the overwhelming task of parenthood, his stepmother grows distant, leaving their fragile bond at risk of collapse. Amidst the growing tension, the boy begins to hear unsettling sounds echoing through the corridors, and is soon haunted by the presence of a grotesque creature bearing a disturbingly familiar resemblance to his late father.

A boy is haunted by a monster with fearful features of his recently deceased father in Benjamin Barfoot's new horror film Daddy's Head, and ahead of the movie's world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22nd (before heading to Shudder on October 11th), we have a look at the film's unsettling trailer.

Synopsis: In the wake of his father’s untimely death, a young boy is left in the eerie solitude of a sprawling country estate with his newly widowed stepmother. Struggling to navigate the overwhelming task of parenthood, his stepmother grows distant, leaving their fragile bond at risk of collapse. Amidst the growing tension, the boy begins to hear unsettling sounds echoing through the corridors, and is soon haunted by the presence of a grotesque creature bearing a disturbingly familiar resemblance to his late father. As the boy’s warnings are dismissed as the imagination of a grieving child,...

Screen International’s ‘The Future of UK Film’ summit will host a panel focused on how the UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) can help support international collaborations.

The high-level conference will be held on September 24, 2024, at BFI Southbank, London.

Buy tickets here

The Ukgsf panel will feature recipients from the programme’s three funding strands – international co-production, international business development and international distribution – talking about how they have benefitted from Ukgsf funding.

The panelists are:

Ken Anderson, founder and executive producer at Wild Child Animation, Zoo Lane Productions, Tg Entertainment; and Red Kite Animation. With over 30 years of experience, Anderson...

Screen International’s ‘The Future of UK Film’ summit will host a panel focused on how the UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) can help support international collaborations.

The high-level conference will be held on September 24, 2024, at BFI Southbank, London.

Buy tickets here

The Ukgsf panel will feature recipients from the programme’s three funding strands – international co-production, international business development and international distribution – talking about how they have benefitted from Ukgsf funding.

The panelists are:

Ken Anderson, founder and executive producer at Wild Child Animation, Zoo Lane Productions, Tg Entertainment; and Red Kite Animation. With over 30 years of experience, Anderson...

The special Early Bird deal for Screen International’s ‘The Future of UK Film’ summit closes tomorrow (Friday 16).

Buy tickets here

The high-level conference, to be held on September 24, 2024, at BFI Southbank, London, will bring together leading industry executives to debate how the UK independent film sector can build on its strengths to become a fully thriving, equitable and sustainable industry.

The Early Bird price of £215+Vat will be available until midnight on August 16, after which it will revert to £250+Vat.

Here is the list of confirmed speakers thus far, with further speakers to be announced ahead of the summit:

Marie-Claire Benson,...

Daddy’s Head reunites director Benjamin Barfoot and writer Danny Morgan, Shudder will release the film in the UK.

Double Date, which is currently available to stream via Amazon Prime, is a fun, dark comedy horror from 2017. Directed by Benjamin Barfoot and written by Danny Morgan – who also co-stars alongside Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging star Georgie Groome, Michael Socha and Kelly Wenham – the plot concerns two men, Alex and Jim, the latter of whom struggles to talk to women. They meet two girls whose hobby is murdering men. Things do not go well.

The cast also featured Dexter Fletcher and Rosie Cavaliero, was met with critical acclaim and was nominated for a BIFA award for effects.

Their next film is horror Daddy’s Head. According to Screen Daily, streaming service Shudder has acquired and will distribute in the UK.

The synopsis, as reported by Deadline in 2023 when the film went into production,...

The all-horror streaming service Shudder has picked up North American rights to Benjamin Barfoot’s Daddy’s Head, Screen Daily reports, with the premiere set for October 11.

The outlet details, “Barfoot’s (Double Date) sophomore feature stars Julia Brown from BBC wartime series World On Fire and Rupert Turnbull from family musical Nativity Rocks! in the story of a boy and his recently widowed stepmother who are visited by a strange creature that appears to mimic a horrifying version of the boy’s recently deceased father.”

“Daddy’s Head is a very important film for me as it intertwines personal feelings about family, grief and trauma with my desire to experiment with the horror genre,” said Barfoot.

Check out a first look image up above and expect the trailer soon.

Matthew James Wilkinson and Patrick Tolan of Stigma Films produced the film.

The post Shudder Picks Up Horror Movie ‘Daddy...

Shudder has acquired North America, UK & Ireland and select territories to Daddy’s Head, Benjamin Barfoot’s follow-up to his Edinburgh film festival selection Double Date written by and starring former Screen International/FrightFest Genre Rising Star Danny Morgan.

Barfoot’s sophomore feature stars Julia Brown from BBC wartime series World On Fire and Rupert Turnbull from family musical Nativity Rocks! in the story of a boy and his recently widowed stepmother who are visited by a strange creature that appears to mimic a horrifying version of the boy’s recently deceased father.

The film is produced by Matthew James Wilkinson...

Optimism among film and TV workers from under-represented communities in the UK is the lowest of all creative sectors, according to a new report from diversity and inclusion consultancy Creative Access.

Only 32% of under-represented workers feel optimistic about their future according to Creative Access’s Thrive Report 2024. This is below the 46% average across the other creative sectors.

The figure is also significantly lower for film and TV workers with a disability, with only 13% feeling optimistic.

The Thrive Report also found that two in three employers focused more on diversity and inclusion at entry-level than they did at mid and senior level.

Three further high-profile industry speakers have joined Screen International’s ‘The Future of UK Film’ summit, to be held on September 24, 2024, in London at BFI Southbank.

Buy tickets here

They are Julia Stuart, director of original film at UK pay-tv company Sky, who oversees a production slate that includes upcoming UK films Euros Lyn’s vampire thriller The Radleys starring Damian Lewis, Sébastien Raybaud, founder of UK-based production, financing and sales outfit Anton, which recently secured over €100m in financing to expand it genre film slate, and prolific UK producer Matthew James Wilkinson of Stigma Films, whose credits include Romola Garai...

Filming on Edward Berger’s The Ballad Of A Small Player starring Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton and Fala Chen is underway in Macau.

The Netflix feature began shooting in the Chinese region earlier this month with filming also expected in Hong Kong.The film is produced by Mike Goodridge’s Good Chaos, Berger’s Nine Hours and Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films. Rowan Joffe penned the screenplay.

Based on Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel, Farrell plays a gambler hiding out in Macau after his debts catch up with him. Here, he meets a “kindred spirit” who may have all the answers to his problems.

Gemma Arterton has joined the cast of Carl Tibbetts’s comic crime thriller Sweet Dreams.

Aimee Lou-Wood, Niamh Algar, Nick Frost, Paapa Essiedu and Billy Howle are also set to star, as previously announced.

Metro International Entertainment continues world sales at Cannes, with the film to shoot later this year. Producers are Matthew James Wilkinson and Patrick Tolan for the UK’s Stigma Films, alongside co-producer Jamie Harvey.

The thriller unfurls in the decaying English seaside town of Claypole, where a local property developer is swindled out of a million pounds, triggering a chain of grisly and murderous events.

Major...

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and Shang Chi: And The Legend Of The Ten Rings star Fala Chen is joining the previously announced Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Tilda Swinton (The Killer) in Netflix and Ed Berger’s (All Quiet On The Western Front) upcoming feature The Ballad of a Small Player, we can reveal.

The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is due to start in Asia this summer.

Rowan Joffe is adapting the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is producing through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films.

The film...

Tilda Swinton is joining Colin Farrell in Edward Berger and Netflix‘s The Ballad of a Small Player, we can reveal.

The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is due to start in Asia this summer.

Rowan Joffe is adapting the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is producing through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films.

The film marks the first project under Berger’s creative partnership and global first-look film deal with Netflix, via his company Nine Hours.

Swinton has recently been in production on Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door and has...

Deadline is reporting that Colin Farrell is now slated to star in the new project from Edward Berger, the director of the Academy Award-winning All Quiet on the Western Front. Farrell will be the lead in The Ballad of a Small Player, which will be a Netflix original. While Berger directs, Rowan Joffe has adapted a script that is based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is on board to produce through his Good Chaos banner, as well as Berger through his Nine Hours banner, along with Matthew James Wilkinson. Berger currently has a first-look deal with Netflix, which this movie will be the start of.

The plot synopsis for The Ballad of a Small Player, according to Deadline, reads,

“The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the...

Colin Farrell continues to keep busy, with the Oscar-nominated actor set to star in Edward Berger’s next feature for Netflix.

Farrell will play the lead in The Ballad of a Small Player, which is based on author Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel of the same name. Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) will helm the movie from a script by Rowan Joffe (Before I Go to Sleep). Filming is set to begin this summer in Asia.

The Ballad of a Small Player centers on a high-stakes gambler who is dealing with debts and his questionable past while trying to keep a low profile in Macau when he meets a kindred spirit.

Producers include Berger for Nine Hours, Mike Goodridge for Good Chaos, and Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films. The Ballad of a Small Player is the initial feature under Berger’s first-look deal with Netflix.

Berger directed Netflix...

Exclusive: Colin Farrell continues to build on a busy dance card as the Oscar-nominated actor is set to star in Netflix’s The Ballad of a Small Player, with Edward Berger directing. Rowan Joffe will adapt the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge will produce through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson.

The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is expected to start later this year.

The film marks the first project under Berger’s creative partnership and global first-look film deal with Netflix, via his company Nine Hours.

Farrell has worked of late on both on the...

Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut Monkey Man leads the new films at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting in 592 cinemas through Universal.

Directed, produced, from a story by and starring Patel, Monkey Man follows an anonymous young man who unleashes a campaign of violence against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother, and continue to systematically victimise the poor and powerless.

Filmed in early 2021, Netflix originally bought worldwide rights to Monkey Man. After Jordan Peele boarded the title as producer through his Monkeypaw Productions, Universal acquired it from Netflix earlier this year. It debuted at SXSW last month.

Hyena director Gerard Johnson is to begin production on his latest thriller Odyssey, produced by UK outfits Electric Shadow Company and Stigma Films.

The four-week shoot will start later this month in north London. The feature unfurls around an estate agent, carrying around with her the city’s secrets, and out for revenge.

It reunites Johnson and Stigma Films with star of their BFI London Film Festival 2019 premiere Muscle, Polly Maberly. She appears alongside Swedish Sex Education actor Mikael Persbrandt.

Johnson described the film as “true to the warped world we find ourselves existing in. This is also a story...

Hyena director Gerard Johnson is to begin production on his latest thriller Odyssey, produced by UK outfits Electric Shadow Company and Stigma Films.

The four-week shoot will start later this month in north London. The feature unfurls around an estate agent, carrying around with her the city’s secrets, and out for revenge.

It reunites Johnson and Stigma Films with star of their BFI London Film Festival 2019 premiere Muscle, Polly Maberly. She appears alongside Swedish Sex Education actor Mikael Persbrandt.

Johnson described the film as “true to the warped world we find ourselves existing in. This is also a story...

Exclusive: Sex Education and Living star Aimee Lou Wood, recently announced for series three of The White Lotus, is joining Nick Frost (Fighting with My Family), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Niamh Algar (Raised By Wolves) and Billy Howle (Under the Banner of Heaven) in crime-thriller Sweet Dreams.

Ahead of the EFM, Metro International Entertainment has boarded worldwide sales on the ensemble project from writer-director Carl Tibbetts (Black Mirror). The team is looking to shoot in October this year with additional casting underway.

Pitched as “a British Fargo“, the story begins when a local property developer is swindled out of a million pounds, triggering a chain of grisly and murderous events that rupture the fabric of the decaying English seaside town of Claypole. As the bodies pile up and the lies unravel, the promise of a brighter future conspires to bring the lives and ambitions of a few misguided...

U.K. producers Evan Leighton-Davis and Ben Bond have launched a new financing fund, Heatseeker Media, a rolling finance facility to provide funding for independent film and TV producers.

Rare for these sorts of indie financing facilities, the London-based fund will provide development funding for producers, initially in the $100,000 to $1 million range for individual projects. Backing for the fund will come from a suite of private investors, mainly high-net-worth individuals, in the U.K., Europe and the U.S..

The first group of films to benefit from the fund include Romola Garai’s Monstrous Beauty, a period drama featuring The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey, which was a hot pre-sale title at the Cannes and AFM markets last year; the horror film The Severed Sun from director Dean Puckett starring Emma Appleton of The Witcher; and Ita Fitzgerald’s Irish drama West the Road featuring Imelda Staunton. The Severed Sun,...

Brainstorm Media will be giving the sci-fi thriller T.I.M. a theatrical and VOD release on January 12th – and with that date just one month away, a trailer for the film has arrived online! You can check it out in the embed above. T.I.M. stars Georgina Campbell, whose previous credits include Barbarian, Bird Box: Barcelona, All My Friends Hate Me, Wildcat, Murdered by My Boyfriend, an episode of Black Mirror, 20 episodes of Krypton, and Lovely, Dark, and Deep.

Marking the feature directorial debut of Spencer Brown, T.I.M. was inspired by ’90s stalker thrillers and follows prosthetics scientist Abi and her adulterous husband Paul as they adjust to life outside the city and Abi’s new job at the high-tech company Integrate, developing a humanoid A.I. – T.I.M. At first, T.I.M appears to be the perfect aid, understanding and catering to their every need but at the same time,...

Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell (Bird Box: Barcelona) returns to horror once more, this time in ’90s style sci-fi thriller T.I.M. (Technologically Integrated Manservant). The official trailer teases a creepy stalker scenario involving A.I. gone awry.

Brainstorm Media is set to release T.I.M. in theaters and On Demand on January 12, 2024.

Eamon Farren, Mark Rowley (“The Last Kingdom”), and Amara Karan (“Doctor Who”) star alongside Campbell.

The film follows “Abi (Georgina Campbell), a prosthetics engineer, and her husband Paul (Mark Rowley). As they adapt to a new life outside the city, Abi’s latest project, the A.I. humanoid T.I.M. (Eamon Farren), initially appears as the perfect aid. Programmed to serve only her, it transforms into a perilous obsession, determined to replace Paul.”

Watch the trailer below to see the humanoid develop a dangerous obsession with its maker, ’90s thriller style.

T.I.M marks the debut...

British historical comedy Seize Them!, in which Aimee Lou Wood, Lolly Adefope, and Nicola Coughlan star, is landing in UK cinemas in April.

Update: Below you’ll see our original story about the film Seize Them!, from when it started shooting in March 2022. We’ve been waiting a little while for the film to land on the UK release schedule; initially, it was inked in for October 2023. However, its release date came and went, with no sign of the film.

Now, though, we actually have a proper release date. Entertainment Film Distributors is putting the movie into UK cinemas, and Friday April 5th 2024 is the date to mark in your diaries.

Now, back to the original story…

With a cast full of British talent, historical comedy Seize Them! begins filming today. The film is set in the Dark Ages, and stars Sex Education actor Aimee Lou Wood alongside comedian Lolly Adefope and Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan.

Here’s your first look at This Town, the latest TV drama from Peaky Blinders and Sas Rogue Heroes creator Steven Knight, starring Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Nicholas Pinnock (For Life) and David Dawson (My Policeman).

The six-part series is produced by Kudos of Banijay UK and Nebulastar for the BBC with Mercury Studios co-producing in association with Kudos North, Stigma Films, and Nick Angel. The show was filmed on location in the West Midlands and at Steven Knight’s Digbeth Loc Film and TV studios.

Plot of the series follows a band’s formation against a backdrop of violence, capturing how creative genius can emerge from a time of madness. Starring are Levi Brown (Loss and Return), Jordan Bolger (The Woman King), Ben Rose (Line of Duty) and Eve Austin (You) as the four young leads.

Geraldine James (Back to Life), Peter McDonald (The Batman), Freya Parks (The School...

The U.K.’s Stigma Films has snapped up TV rights for Jeffrey Boakye’s “I Heard What You Said,” an Amazon Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2022.

Told via a series of encounters based on the challenging and outrageous things people have said to him or about him, Boakye, a Black, male English teacher who has had to teach problematic texts, recounts how it feels to be on the margins of the British education system.

The deal was brokered by the Sarah Such Literary Agency.

Stigma’s film credits include “Daddy’s Head,” “T.I.M.,” “The Score,” upcoming Romola Garai project “Monstrous Beauty” and Netflix original “Choose or Die,” starring Asa Butterfield. The acquisition of “I Heard What You Said” follows on from Stigma branching out from feature films to television in the last year. Their first project is Steven Knight/Kudos series, “This Town” for BBC and the company...

Exclusive: Dark star Louis Hofmann, one of Germany’s most in-demand young actors, is joining Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us), Dominic West (The Crown), Ruth Negga (Loving), Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) in period drama Monstrous Beauty, which HanWay is selling at the Cannes market ahead of a planned September shoot.

Ramsey, who shot to fame as the precocious Lady of Bear Island in Got and is coming off HBO’s blockbuster hit The Last Of Us, is heading back to court but this time as an aspiring playwright in the court of King Charles II who suffers from a rare condition that means she is entirely covered in hair.

Atonement and The Hour star Romola Garai has written and will direct the movie with Matthew James Wilkinson (Yesterday) producing for Stigma Films.

Hofmann will play Vale in Monstrous Beauty, an “average actor and extremely skilled lover by trade — but...

Siobhán McSweeney and Eileen Walsh are also attached.

UK sales outfit Bankside Films has acquired West The Road, the feature debut from Irish writer-director Ita Fitzgerald, set to star Imelda Staunton, Derry Girls’ Siobhán McSweeney, The Magdalene Sisters’ Eileen Walsh and Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham.

Production will start later this year in County Kerry, western Ireland. The feature follows a group of women brought together by the death of a childhood friend. When they discover that she was forced to give her daughter up for adoption at the age of 15, the group embarks on a journey from the west...

Speakers include BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson, Film4’s Farhana Bhula and The British Blacklist’s Akua Gyamfi.

US producer Anthony Bregman, incoming BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson and leading UK execs are among the speakers confirmed for the second edition of the Sundance Film Festival: London industry programme.

The Sundance Institute will once again be partnering with Picturehouse for this year’s event, which takes place at London’s Picturehouse Central from July 6-9.

Bregman will deliver the keynote talk. He premiered three features at the Sundance Film Festival in January: Flora And Son, Eileen and You Hurt My Feelings,...

Is Bella Ramsey the next big thing in Hollywood? After playing Lady Lyanna Mormont in HBO‘s Game of Thrones and Ellie Williams in The Last of Us, Ramsey is ready for their next significant role. This role is Ramsey’s first project since their stunning performance in The Last of Us [the actor is non-binary and now prefers they/them pronouns]. According to Deadline, Ramsey will play “an aspiring playwright in the court of King Charles II who suffers from a rare condition that means she is entirely covered in hair” for Monstrous Beauty.

Romola Garai directs from a script she wrote, combining fiction and real historical characters. Dominic West plays King Charles II, Ruth Negga plays his mistress Nell Gwyn, and Fiona Shaw plays Aphra Ben, the first ever published female playwright in history. Cameras roll is September, with Matthew James Wilkinson producing

Per Deadline, here’s the complete synopsis for Monstrous Beauty:

“Set in the 17th Century,...

The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey has found her next role in the upcoming period drama film Monstrous Beauty following the huge success of her HBO show. Ramsey first rose to fame as the young, sharp-tongued Lady of Bear Island on another hit HBO show, Game Of Thrones, from 2016 to 2019. The praise she received for that portrayal helped her land her biggest role to date starring as Ellie opposite Pedro Pascal's Joel in the zombie drama series The Last Of Us.

According to Deadline, Ramsey has now parlayed her success on the small screen into a new role as the lead in the drama Monstrous Beauty. The film will be set in 17th-century England in the court of King Charles II where Ramsey will play an aspiring playwright named Barbara Field. Her character will have a rare condition that causes her to be entirely covered in hair, as...

Exclusive: After playing formidable and unique young women in The Last Of Us and Game Of Thrones, Bella Ramsey has found their next potentially memorable role as the star of period drama Monstrous Beauty.

Ramsey, who shot to fame as the precocious Lady of Bear Island in Got, is heading back to court but this time as an aspiring playwright in the court of King Charles II who suffers from a rare condition that means she is entirely covered in hair. This is their [the actor is non-binary and now prefers they/them pronouns] first role announced since HBO’s blockbuster hit The Last Of Us.

Atonement and The Hour star Romola Garai has written and will direct the movie, which will also star Dominic West as King Charles II (after he recently played Prince Charles in The Crown), Oscar nominee Ruth Negga (Passing) as his mistress Nell Gwyn, and Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) as Aphra Ben, the first ever published female playwright in history.

Kate Middleton showed off her pancake flipping skills during an outing on Tuesday.

The U.K. celebrated Shrove Tuesday this week, with Kate marking the occasion by visiting the Oxford House Nursing Home in Slough.

The Princess of Wales apologized as she attempted to make and flip a pancake.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, visits the Oxford House Nursing Home to meet with staff and residents and hear how delivering high-quality, patient-focused care is at the centre of the homes work on February 21, 2023 in Slough, England. (Photo by Hannah McKay – Wpa Pool/Getty Images)

However, despite insisting she hadn’t done the person making the pancakes “justice,” Kate eventually managed to throw hers up in the air and have it land back in the frying pan.

Read More: Kate Middleton Pats Prince William’s Butt On 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet

Flippin’ eck it’s Shrove Tuesday so…

The Princess of Wales made pancakes...

When the European Film Market kicks off in Berlin on Feb. 16, the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will share the stage as the EFM’s joint Countries in Focus. The showcase, which is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the National Film Center of Latvia and the Lithuanian Film Center, will offer a range of events within the framework of the EFM, along with a selection of market premieres and screenings of Baltic films already making waves on the festival circuit. Twelve up-and-coming Baltic producers will also be presented to the international industry during a happy hour on Feb. 17 in the Gropius Bas.

Here’s a selection of Baltic buzz titles that the region’s top producers will be taking to Berlin:

Last Sentinel

Director: Tanel Toom

Producers: Ben Pullen, Ivo Felt, Jörg Bundschuh, Pippa Cross, Matthew James Wilkinson

Kate Bosworth stars in this sci-fi thriller from...

Exclusive: Vertical has secured Na rights to sci-fi thriller Last Sentinel, written by Malachi Smyth and directed by Academy Award-nominated Tanel Toom. The film stars Kate Bosworth (Along for the Ride), Lucien Laviscount (Emily in Paris), Thomas Kretschmann (Infinity Pool), and Martin McCann (The Informer).

Set in the near future, unchecked and rampant climate change has caused temperatures and sea levels to rise catastrophically. Only two large continents remain, and billions die during the mass migration to these higher lands. Surrounded by an endless ocean thousands of miles from home, a skeleton crew of soldiers stand as the last bastion, defending their homeland from an invasion by an enemy they have never seen, monitoring for signs of attack and prepared to sacrifice themselves for the cause. Their tour of duty ended 3 months ago with no relief in sight. Alone and uncertain as to what fate awaits them,...

Exclusive: Production began this week on Daddy’s Head, a psychological horror from writer-director Benjamin Barfoot (Double Date).

Mathew James Wilkinson (Yesterday) produces alongside Patrick Tolan (T.I.M) for Stigma films, with finance provided by Quickfire Films, Arthro Films, Shoutloud Creative, OnSight, and Capture.

Amp is handling world sales and will be shopping the project at the upcoming European Film Market.

Executive producers are Jan Pace and James Atherton for Quickfire, M J McMahon and Matthew Jones for Capture, Simon Marriott for Shoutloud Creative, James Owen for Arthro Films, Tony Maher for OnSight, and James Norrie, Nina Kolokouri, Bob Portal and Inderpal Singh for Amp.

The film’s full synopsis reads: A boy and his young, recently widowed stepmother find themselves in fear for their lives after they are visited by a strange and unexplainable creature. Something that appears to mimic a horrifying version of the boy’s recently deceased father.

No stranger to playing not-so-upstanding knights in shining armor, Jaime Lannister himself, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, has boarded "Virtue," a medieval gothic horror movie that HanWay Films is taking to the European Film Market. Founded in 1999, HanWay is a British sales, distribution, and marketing company that's managed to get a pretty eclectic batch of films made over the years. Their output ranges from celebrated documentaries to Oscar-nominated period dramas to a bevy of auteur projects from the likes of David Cronenberg ("A Dangerous Method"), Takashi Miike ("13 Assassins"), Jim Jarmusch ("Only Lovers Left Alive"), and many more.

If that's not enough to get you sitting up and taking notice, know that "Virtue" further pairs Coster-Waldau with Romola Garai, the star of "Atonement," "Suffragette," and one of the best BBC series you've never seen, Abi Morgan's 1950s-set TV journalism drama "The Hour." In a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter), HanWay Films CEO Gabrielle Stewart notes that,...

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Romola Garai are teaming for gothic horror Virtue, heading to the European Film Market with HanWay Films.

The feature is set to be directed by Joanna Coates, who in 2014 won the Michael Powell award for best British feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival for her film Hide & Seek, and was written by Sam Hoare (Having You, The English Game series, A Gentleman in Moscow series).

Alex Cook is producing for 10 08 Films Ltd. and Coster-Waldau, Steve Bakken and Joe Derrick for Ill Kippers. Executive producers include HanWay Films, James Brown and Matthew James Wilkinson.

Set in England in 1350, Virtue sees Coster-Waldau play Sir Peter, a heroic knight, who after years abroad returns from war accompanied by his teenage son and companions at arms. They find a plague-ravaged homeland ruled by social unrest, superstition and fear. After controversially preventing a witch from burning, Sir Peter vows to rescue...

Game Of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Romola Garai are set to star in Joanna Coates’s gothic horror Virtue, which Hanway Films will launch sales on at the EFM later this month.

Set in England in 1350, Coster Waldau will star as heroic knight St. Peter who returns from war with his teenage son to discover a plague-ravaged homeland riven by social unrest, superstition and fear.

After controversially preventing a woman from being burned to death on the superstition of being a witch, he attempts to re-establish his reputation by embarking on a quest to find a female villager who has vanished into the local forest, believed to be haunted by locals.

But when he and his men track down the woman and her “possessed” daughters, events take an unexpected turn, and it becomes clear they do not want to be rescued.

“The Middle Ages and classic...