EXCLUSIVE: As they premiere their first production, Urchin, in Un Certain Regard, Harris Dickinson and Archie Pearch’s production company Devisio Pictures is quietly building a busy slate of about 20 projects at various stages of development.
The US-based investment firm Tricky Knot, led by Alexandra Tynion, has backed Devisio – and was also a financier on Urchin, alongside BBC Film and the BFI Filmmaking Fund.
Devisio’s team is now four strong, including London-based production assistant Phoebe McNally and New York-based development executive Daisy Kramer, who previously worked at New Regency. “We want to have that UK-US focus so it was important for us to have the base there too,” Pearch tells Screen.
The company has around 17 film projects and three TV projects on its slate right now – many without Dickinson attached to direct or star in.
“There are some key projects we’re building around him that are incredibly exciting. But the idea around the company is to build projects outside of Harris as well as with him,” says Pearch.
The company will work with anyone from first-time filmmakers to veteran names. “Our taste is really eclectic,” he adds
Urchin, which Pearch produced alongside Scott O’Donnell of Somesuch, premieres May 17 in Un Certain Regard with Charades handling sales.
Dickinson’s acting credits include Beach Rats, Triangle Of Sadness, The Iron Claw, Scrapper and Babygirl. Urchin is his directorial debut feature.
Dickinson also wrote the script about Mike (Frank Dillane), a rough sleeper in London trapped in a cycle of self-destruction as he attempts to turn his life around.
Pearch and Dickinson met in 2016 and Pearch says, “Even from that first meeting, we knew we shared very similar sensibilities. He said Dickinson, despite his fame as an actor, wasn’t coming from a place of ego as a filmmaker. “He’s humble and a normal guy, and I aligned with that.”
Their company name is a play on the Portuguese word for diversion. “We both wanted to create a space that felt very collaborative,” says Pearch. “A space to take risks, that was being bold and creating high-quality work.”
Pearch started his career with a work experience stint at Working Title before moving to Heyday Films in 2018 to work as David Heyman’s assistant; while there, he worked on projects such as Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, White Noise, Wonka and Barbie. He produced Dickinson’s short film 2003, which played at BFI Flare and BFI London Film Festival in 2021.
Pearch is excited for audiences in Cannes to discover Dickinson as a directing talent. “A lot of people know Harris as an actor, but I think it’s important to show him as a filmmaker. We wanted to create something that felt very authentic.
“Story-wise, Urchin was deeply personal to Harris,” he continues. “It’s a world he knows because he has been part of organisations helping people on the street for years [Dickinson helped set up the Hackney branch of the charity Under One Sky]. He still volunteers every Wednesday. It felt like an urgent story.”
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