Imelda Staunton, Johnny Flynn & Dominic West Among New Additions To Pablo Trapero’s ‘& Sons’ As Drama Lines Up Pre-Sales

EXCLUSIVE: Bankside Films has announced additional cast, pre-sales and new producers for & Sons, director Pablo Trapero’s adaptation of the novel by David Gilbert.

Imelda Staunton (Downton Abbey), Johnny Flynn (Ripley), Dominic West (The Affair), Anna Geislerová (Anthropoid) and Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) are new additions to the project, for which current pre-sales include Airlines (Penny Black Media), Australia & New Zealand (Transmission), Bulgaria (Beta), Eastern Europe PTV (HBO), Former Yugoslavia (MCF), Hungary (Cinetel), Middle East (Front Row) and Spain (Divisa Red).

Elevation Pictures’ Christina Piovesan and Emily Kulasa have joined as co-producers, with Tricky Knot and Maven Screen Media boarding as executive producers. As previously announced, Bill Nighy, Noah Jupe and George MacKay also star.

In & Sons, Nighy plays Andrew — or A.N. Dyer, as he is known to the world — a famous novelist whose first novel became an instant classic and created a cult following around its elusive author. One morning, Dyer wakes up convinced he must mend the broken relationships in his life and summons his sons (Flynn, Jupe and MacKay) to be with him. It has been nearly 20 years since an incident tore apart the family. When the sons arrive, each burdened with their own struggles, Andrew reveals something so astonishing it couldn’t possibly be true — or could it?

Currently in post, the film is written by Academy Award winner Sarah Polley (Woman Talking) & Trapero.

& Sons is produced by Phin Glynn, Axel Kuschevatzky and Cindy Teperman of Infinity Hill. Trapero also produces through his own company Matanza Cine. EPs are Ori Eisen of Original Films, Mike and Peter Sobiloff of Off Media, Alexandra Tynion and Olivia Tyson of Tricky Knot, Trudie Styler, Celine Rattray, and Jackie Donohoe of Maven Screen Media, Chris and Katy Cavanaugh Jupe of Double Garage Films, Juliana Wates, Helene Theodoly, Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green for Bankside Films, Kasia Neiman and Bahman Naraghi. Co-producer Elevation Pictures is handling the film’s Canadian distribution.

Production funding was provided by Screen Capital, with Joyce Zylberberg and Tatiana Emden and Media Finance Capital’s Charles Dorfman and Marlon Vogelgesang acting as EPs. Other funders included Franciscus Productions (Alejandro Roemmers and Emmanuel Fabeiro), Prisma (Jorge Perez Gaudio and Antonio Pita), HeyEye (Ramiro Navarro, Elias Ortiz and Nicolas Veinberg), Onza Americas (Carlos Garde), DK Entertainment Int (Diego Kolankowsky) and Nativa Productions.

Bankside Films is handling worldwide sales, co-repping North American rights with UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance.

Staunton is repped by Artist Rights Group; Flynn by CAA and United Agents; West by Tavistock Wood Management and WME; Geislerová by Subtitle Talent; and Conti by Waring McKenna, WME, and Myman Greenspan Fox.