EXCLUSIVE: Bankside has newly boarded Steven Shainberg’s comedy-drama set to star Jim Sturgess, Kristen Stewart.

London-based sales outfit Bankside Films is the new sales company on board Steven Shainberg’s comedy-drama The Big Shoe.

Jim Sturgess, Kristen Stewart, Elizabeth Banks and Klaus Maria Brandauer are set to star in the story of a gifted shoe designer (Sturgess) forced to break free from a family who want to cheapen his art for their own commercial gain. Stewart will play the designer’s muse.

Written by Shainberg and Mickey Birnbaum, new backing for the film comes from Bankside and South Africa’s Azari Media. The shoot is planned for April 2014.

Andrew Lazar (I Love You Philip Morris) of Mad Chance Productions produces, while executive producers are Christina Weiss Lurie, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross and Anton Ernst.

CAA is packaging and reps North American rights.

Bankside’s head of sales and marketing Stephen Kelliher, said: “We are huge fans of Secretary so when the opportunity to be involved in Steven Shainberg’s next feature arose, we knew that we had to do it. It is a highly original story from an extraordinary director who has attracted a sensational cast to the project. We know that international distributors are going to be as excited about this film as we are and we look forward to presenting the film to them here at the AFM.”