smith clark

Source: Greg Williams / Guy Coombes

Matt Smith, Morfydd Clark

Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark have signed to star in UK project Starve Acre, the second feature from Apostasy director Daniel Kokotajlo, which Cornerstone FIlms is launching at the online European Film Market (EFM, February 10-17).

The film is in pre-production and will start shooting this spring in the UK, having been developed and backed by BBC Film, and backed by Access Entertainment and the BFI. Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell are producing for House Productions, alongside Emma Duffy.

The film is based on Andrew Michael Hurley’s 2019 novel of the same name. Set in 1970s rural England, it centres on an archaeologist and his partner who unwittingly allow dark and sinister forces into their remote family home. 

Cornerstone previously sold Kokotajlo’s debut feature Apostasy, for which he won the IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI.

Starve Acre is already a genre-defining modern classic – Daniel’s singular vision and this exceptional cast bring great depth and strength to this evocative story,” said Ross.

“Daniel’s haunting cinematic vision for Starve Acre is breathtaking,” added a statement from Thompson and Gooder.

Smith was recently seen in last year’s Last Night In Soho, while Clark has shot a key role in upcoming Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Smith, Clark and Kokotajlo have all previously been named Screen Stars of Tomorrow, in 2007, 2016 and 2015 respectively.