Raine Allen-Miller, the British filmmaker who turned heads with her hugely acclaimed — and two-time BAFTA-nominated — 2023 debut feature “Rye Lane,” is readying her sophomore film, Variety can reveal.
Entitled “The Roots Manœuvre,” the project will see Allen-Miller keep the action in London like “Rye Lane” but this time move from rom-com to heist comedy. The film has already been boarded by Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures, with a theatrical release planned. Producers include Plan B’s Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner as well as Damian Jones of DJ Films, and the feature will be produced in association with BBC Film with Eva Yates as an executive producer. Both Jones and BBC Film backed “Rye Lane.”
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From a script by Allen-Miller, “The Roots Manœuvre” follows a young woman who orchestrates a daring heist to recover a stolen artifact, covering her tracks by managing the whirlwind of a luxury wedding.
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Set and shot in South London and backed by BBC Film and the BFI, “Rye Lane” first bowed in Sundance in 2023 before being released by Searchlight in the U.K. and on Hulu in the U.S. Alongside landing critical praise for giving the rom-com genre a whip-smart and and unpretentiously charming update, the film went on to earn 16 nominations at the British Independent Film Awards (winning two awards) and two BAFTA nominations, including outstanding British film and best actress nomination for its co-lead star Vivian Oparah.
After making his big screen debut in “Rye Lane,” the film’s other co-lead David Jonsson has become a hugely in-demand talent, winning plaudits for “Alien: Romulus” and landing roles in both Frank Ocean’s directorial debut and Colman Domingo’s upcoming “Love Affair,” in which he’ll play Sammy Davis Jr. alongside Sydney Sweeney as Kim Novak. Jonsson recently won the BAFTA Rising Star award.
