Screen profiles a selection of the key titles available to American Film Market buyers at various stages of production from the UK.
Almost You
Dir. Matt Lipsey
Juno Temple, Joey King and James McAvoy star in this comedy, currently shooting in Glasgow, about a robotics engineer who creates an AI replica of her dead sister. The Scottish producing team are Danny Page for Homefront Productions and Blazing Griffin, alongside Matt Schichter of Scared Goose Entertainment and Rory Stewart. UTA Independent Film Group is co-repping the UK and North America rights with Bankside Films.
Contact: Bankside Films (international)
Darlington
Dir. Sacha Gervasi
Renée Zellweger plays a faded TV actress given a shot at redemption in this comedy drama, targeting a spring UK shoot next year. Dominic Sessa and Peter Dinklage also star. Alison Owen and Debra Hayward produce for Monumental Pictures, with Jim Garavente for Portobello Electric. Alexander Payne executive produces.
Contact: Rocket Science
Going Under
Dir. David Beton
The next film from Obsession producer James Harris is a crime thriller starring Ray Winstone and Danny Dyer. Going Under sees a gangster and his right-hand man working on one last big deal. The film wrapped production in the summer, with Vertigo Releasing distributing in UK-Ireland cinemas in spring 2027.
Contact: Essential Film Group
It’s Alright
Dir. Scott Stewart
Paul Bettany, Asha Banks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Colin Firth are among the cast of this comedy about an ageing pop star. Bettany has also co-written the script with Stewart, and Banks will write and perform original songs for the film. Producers are Firth’s Raindog Films and Pacesetter Productions. CAA Media Finance reps US rights.
Contact: Protagonist Pictures
John Daniel
Dir. Dominic Cooke
UK theatre director Cooke, who last helmed a feature in 2020 with spy thriller The Courier, returns to film with a real-life story inspired by the friendship between a woman and a baby gorilla after the First World War. It is based on original home-movie footage and photographs recorded by locals in the village of Uley in England between 1918 and 1922. Emily Watson stars and Debbie Gray produces for Genesius Pictures. A UK shoot is planned for mid-2027.
Contact: Cornerstone Films
Mare Nostrum
Dirs. Mariano Cohn, Gaston Duprat
Argentinian filmmakers Cohn and Duprat (Official Competition) have cast Antonio Banderas as the captain of a giant commercial container ship carrying a billion-euro cargo from Istanbul to Cape Town, whose decision to rescue African migrants packed on a small boat during a storm triggers an international political crisis. Jose Luis Escolar produces, with the Spain shoot commencing in March 2027.
Contact: HanWay Films
Mini War
Dir. Joel David Moore
Luke Wilson and Vanessa Hudgens star in a US comedy about a stoner who unexpectedly inherits a miniature golf course from his late uncle and finds himself in a bizarre dispute with a neighbouring property owner. Further cast includes Brett Gelman, Kevin Nealon and Rob Morgan. Producers include Jarod Einsohn and Moore.
Contact: Capture Entertainment
The Portrait
Dir. Sara Colangelo
Gillian Anderson and Rebecca Hall collide in the story of a dying man whose secret lover, desperate to see him in his final days, commissions his artist wife to paint her portrait, giving the lover access to the family home. Pie Films (The Lost Daughter) and The Apartment (The Hand Of God) produce. WME Independent and UTA Independent Film Group co-rep North America.
Contact: Rocket Science
Sketchbook
Dir. Jamie Jones
Woody Norman and Billie Piper lead this supernatural horror, which unspools around a 14-year-old struggling to find his place back home with his mother after years in foster care, until a group of misfit teens introduce him to a cursed sketchbook. Producers are Jay Taylor of UK outfit Electric Shadow, Oscar-nominated Whiplash producer David Lancaster for the US’s Rumble Films and Wales-based Adam Knopf. Production is set to begin in Wales in early 2027.
Contact: WestEnd Films
Untitled Woody Allen feature
Dir. Woody Allen
Plot details are under wraps, but Allen has said his next film takes in “romance, intrigue and infidelity”. The contemporary English-language comedy, currently shooting in Spain, stars Marton Csokas and Jemima Kirke alongside Jakob Oftebro, Peter Vives and Alexi Wasser. Madrid-based Wanda Vision and Allen’s Gravier Productions are producing alongside Puerto Rico-headquartered 3SIX9 Studios.
Contact: WestEnd Films
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