Hope Dickson Leach has another family drama on the way. Deadline reports that Lily Collins (“To the Bone”) and Jack O’Connell (“Unbroken”) will topline the award-winning writer-director’s follow-up to “The Levelling.”
Titled “The Cradle,” the new feature centers on expectant parents dealing with stress in different ways. “Matt is having panic attacks and Marissa wants the nursery to be perfect. So perfect that she needs Matt to track down the cradle she had as an infant,” the source summarizes. “To keep his pregnant wife happy, Matt hits the road unaware of what lies ahead. The discovery he makes, however, will change their family forever.”
Dickson Leach penned the script alongside Patrick Somerville. Described as “highly emotional and life-affirming,” the story is based on the latter’s 2009 novel of the same name.
Production is expected to kick off this summer on the project, which has been boarded by Protagonist Pictures. The script will be introduced to buyers at Cannes.
“The Levelling” made its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. The pic follows a young woman (Ellie Kendrick,“Game of Thrones”) who finds herself back at the family farm following the suicide of her younger brother, a tragedy that her emotionally distant, hot-tempered father insists on identifying as an accident.
Dickson Leach was named the inaugural recipient of the IWC Filmmaker Bursary Award. The honor recognizes and supports a British writer and/or director towards the beginning of their career, offering them financial freedom to pursue future projects.
“I don’t think there is one thing that can be done to increase the numbers of women directors, but every single one of the things that people say need to be done should be adopted,” Dickson Leach told us. “It’s going to be gradual. Given my own experience, I’d like to see more older women being embraced in the industry, and more conversations around what parent filmmakers need in place to make their work.”
Dickson Leach co-founded Raising Films, which works towards making the film industry more accessible to parents and caregivers.
