Trudie Styler Is Directing Two Feature Films Back to Back
Trudie Styler is directing two feature films back to back, she told Deadline. One of them, Up Against It, has already had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The other, The Reception, is being shot now.
Up Against It is a romantic comedy set in London. Antonio Banderas and Eva Birthistle play Alvaro and Saffron, a divorced couple who spend most of their time at odds. Their story takes a turn when their only daughter, Rose, is diagnosed with cancer, the same illness she fought as an infant. The two are forced back together for her sake.
The Reception is a comedy built around a chaotic wedding party in Scotland. Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce and Sabrina Impacciatore are in the cast. Cameras have been rolling in Scotland since late October, according to Deadline. Daniels was first reported as the lead in a September report, and the cast has since grown.
Beta Cinema, a sales agent (a company that sells films to cinemas and streaming services in other countries), will sell both films at the upcoming American Film Market, known as the AFM. The AFM is a trade event in Santa Monica where buyers and sellers of independent films meet to strike deals, often before a movie is finished. Maven Screen Media, the production company Styler runs with Celine Rattray, is behind the projects.
For anyone wondering how a film reaches a screen, these two titles show the usual route in miniature. A film can premiere at a festival, then go to a market to find buyers, and reach cinemas months or years later. Another film can be shooting at the same time, moving through the same chain one stage behind.
Styler has worked in film for decades, and this is her fourth feature as a director, following Up Against It. The two projects are very different in tone and setting, one a London drama-comedy about a family in crisis and the other a Scottish wedding farce. Both are scheduled to reach buyers in the same market season, which means their next steps will be decided by the same group of people within weeks of each other.
