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9 months ago
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EXCLUSIVE: Swede Caroline, a British mockumentary starring Aisling Bea and Jo Hartley (After Life) from Nicola Pearcey, formerly President, Lionsgate UK & Europe, and now CEO of Picnik Entertainment, has landed both a theatrical and digital release.
Belstone Pictures, Deadbeat Studios, and Pearcey’s Picnik Entertainment will jointly send the pic into cinemas on April 19, with Sky Cinema set to premiere the film later this year. The deal with Sky was closed by Finn Bruce of Belstone on behalf of the filmmakers and by Rachel Trawicki and Alexander Wright for Sky.
Swede Caroline is the debut feature of directing duo Brook Driver and Finn Bruce, who previously collaborated on SXSW Special Jury Prize-winning Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break. Swede Caroline was penned by Driver. The story is centered around the eccentric world of competitive vegetable growing. The plot follows Caroline as she readies herself for the big championship when the competitive giant vegetable-growing world is rocked by scandal as her prized marrow plants are stolen. With her life turned upside down and desperate for answers, she turns to two private detectives, who are then dramatically kidnapped. Are the events linked? No, of course not. But Caroline thinks they are, and the hunt for her missing marrows takes her way beyond the allotments, plunging her into a national corruption scandal that goes all the way to the top. We can share the first trailer for the pic above.
Also starring are Richard Lumsden (Sense and Sensibility, Sugar Rush), BAFTA Cymru award-winning Celyn Jones (The Almond and the Seahorse, Submergence), Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Love Wedding Repeat), Fay Ripley (Cold Feet), Alice Lowe (Sightseers, Hot Fuzz), Ray Fearon (Beauty and the Beast, The Foreigner) and Steve Brody (The Office, Avenue 5, I’m Alan Partridge).
“We’re delighted to partner with Belstone and Deadbeat as part of our first slate of female-led films for distribution at Picnik Entertainment,” said Pearcey.
“We are working hand in hand with the filmmakers and talent in what is reflective of truly independent releasing. Like the film itself, this grassroots campaign will be a hilarious fun fest to capture the hearts and minds of our audience.”
Swede Caroline is the second feature from the distribution arm of Pearcey’s Picnik Entertainment, which was launched in 2024. The first film, Vindication Swim, starring Kirsten Callaghan, is out in March. Pearcey established Picnik Entertainment in 2021.
Director and producer Finn Bruce added: “Swede Caroline is the epitome of independent filmmaking here in the UK, to be able to release this film theatrically through a self-distribution strategy is a true celebration of the British film industry. It’s so exciting to have amazing partners like Sky Cinema and Picnik Entertainment supporting this feel-good film. It’s especially encouraging as it’s a film with such heart and a wonderful working-class female lead, instead of more superheroes and explosions.”
