French film legend Isabelle Huppert has been cast as the lead in her first British film, Lineage, an exciting new film from acclaimed director Yann Demange (Top Boy, 71). She will star in the blockbuster film role alongside Dali Bensala, Adam Bessa, and award-winning international recording artist Ray.
The high-profile crime drama will begin international sales at the Marché du Film during this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Veterans Affairs will lead international sales, with CAA Media Finance representing U.S. rights. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in London in early August.
The project will also reunite Huppert and Bessa, who co-star in Asghar Farhadi’s latest feature Parallel Tales, which premiered in competition at Cannes.
“Lineage,” written by Enda Walsh, whose credits include “Hunger” and based on Demange’s novel, was developed by the pair over the past two years. Set in contemporary multicultural London, the film follows Tariq, a man who rebuilds his life after prison and strives to carve a new path for himself and his young son Amin. When his brother asks for help, Tariq is drawn back into the dangerous orbit of a London crime syndicate and his mother, a crime boss. This reunion puts everything he’s built at risk, forcing him to confront his family loyalty and the legacy of violence that defined his life.
Demange, whose credits include “Top Boy” and the acclaimed thriller “71,” described “Lineage” as deeply personal.
“Lineage is home for me in many ways,” Demange said, adding that the film “features characters I know very well at the heart of the story, including the matriarch of a terrifying crime boss.”
“This is also a love letter to my beloved London, where I was born and raised. It’s important to me that this film honors the crime genre and represents it in an exciting and fresh way, while also exploring the complexities of family and the possibility of transcending the origins of life.”
Thomas Bensky, partner at Wayward & Carousel, producer of Lineage, and founder of Lumina, praised Demange as “one of the most distinctive filmmakers of his generation, with a unique cinematic voice who masterfully blends emotional intensity, propulsive visual storytelling, and cultural relevance.”
“‘Lineage’ is a bold, filmmaker-driven film with true artistic ambition and global commercial appeal. It’s exactly the kind of elevated storytelling we champion and want to bring to audiences,” Bensky added.
Lineage will be produced by Wayward’s Thomas Bensky and Meredith Duff, Crab Apple Film’s Angus Lamont, Carousel’s Cécile Gaget, as well as Production’s Christophe Tourmonde and Why Not Production’s Pascal Cochteau. House Productions’ Tessa Ross, Strange Charm’s Richard Mansell, and BBC Films’ Eva Yates will serve as executive producers. LPI, Lumina Studios and BBC Films are co-financing the film.
Demange is repped by CAA, Range Media Partners, and Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher LLP. Huppert is represented by Isabelle de la Pateliere (UBBB) and Hilda Qualley (CAA). Bensara is repped by Juanita Fellag Chebra of AS Talents, UTA and Strand Entertainment. Bessa is represented by Grace Cavanagh-Butler of Sequel Management and Florence Charmasson of Alternative Agency. RAYE is repped by The Team and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Walsh is repped by Curtis Brown Group.
