Skarsgård, Schafer, Hawke and Melling Set for "The Confessions"

Alexander Skarsgård, Hunter Schafer, Maya Hawke and Harry Melling are set to star in "The Confessions," the latest feature from the Canadian filmmaking trio Guy Maddin, Galen Johnson and Evan Johnson. Variety reported the casting on 10 November 2026.

The film follows "Rumours," the trio's political satire that premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. That comedy, starring Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander and Charles Dance, follows world leaders who get lost in the woods during a G7 summit. Out of competition means the film screened at Cannes without taking part in the festival's main prize race.

The new project is described as a cautionary psycho-dramedy, a blend of dark comedy and psychological drama. Its story centres on a group of condemned nuns who witness a globe-spanning love triangle involving a missing sea captain and his poet wife.

Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen's Square Peg is producing. The company boarded the project in early development after working with the filmmakers on "Rumours." Daniel Bekerman's Scythia Films has also joined. Scythia Films and Thin Stuff are producing in Canada, with support from Telefilm Canada, the federal agency that backs Canadian film.

Selling the film is spread across several companies. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are co-representing North American rights, which means they are handling sales of the film's distribution rights in the United States and Canada. The French sales company Charades is handling international sales, and Elevation Pictures will distribute the film in Canada.

The film is being launched at the American Film Market, the Los Angeles event where independent films are shown to buyers. That is often where a film's route to cinemas and streaming services begins to take shape. Each step, from the casting to the buyers who decide where a film plays, is a decision made by people.