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Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat star in Sophie Hyde’s Animals
22 March 2018
Award-winning director Sophie Hyde (52 Tuesdays, Life in Movement) is helming a feature adaptation of author-turned-screenwriter Emma Jane Unsworth’s best-selling novel Animals, an unconventional female driven comedy starring Holliday Grainger (Tulip Fever, My Cousin Rachel) and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Search Party).
The official Irish/Australian co-production from Vico Films and Closer Productions is currently shooting in Dublin, having secured production investment from Screen Australia and the Irish Film Board (IFB) in association with the Adelaide Film Festival and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).
Grainger and Shawkat star as Laura and Tyler respectively, best friends and drinking buddies whose hedonistic existence falls under the creeping horror of adulthood when Laura gets engaged to Jim – an ambitious pianist who decides, unfathomably, to go teetotal.
Sophie Hyde is also producing alongside Rebecca Summerton for Closer Productions, BAFTA-nominated Sarah Brocklehurst (Black Pond), and Cormac Fox for Vico Films. Emma Jane Unsworth wrote the screenplay based on her novel which was first published in 2014 in the UK, followed by editions in the USA, Canada, Germany, France and Spain.
Acting CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation Adam Smith said, “The SAFC is thrilled to continue the journey with the now renowned South Australian production company Closer Productions, and the unique creative voice of Sophie Hyde, as they take this exciting next step into international co-production with Animals. It is an amazing opportunity for the South Australian team to work on an international production, which has roots in South Australia.