Dark Comedy Cavendish Twists 17th-Century Witch Hunts Into a Fierce Thriller
Sophie Thatcher ("Heretic," "Companion"), Erin Kellyman ("28 Years Later: The Bone Temple," "Eleanor the Great") and Joe Alwyn ("The Brutalist," "Hamnet") are to star in "Cavendish," an "irreverent and original" thriller set against the witch hunts of 17th-century Britain.
From writer-director Christopher Andrews ("Bring Them Down"), "Cavendish" is billed as "blending visceral action with sharp, unexpected humour." Cornerstone will handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at Cannes. CAA Media Finance is handling domestic.
Set in 1645, the story sees a privileged young bride (Thatcher) accused of witchcraft on her wedding day and pursued by a ruthless witch hunter (Alwyn). Forced into an uneasy alliance with a sharp-witted poacher living on the margins of society (Kellyman), the two women, as per the synopsis, fight back, "turning their powerlessness into strength through violence, wit and defiance."
Cavendish is produced by BAFTA award winners Ivana MacKinnon and Emily Leo ("How to Have Sex," "Bring Them Down," "Beast") from Wild Swim Films together with January Films' Rosa Attab and Jacqueline De Croy ("You Were Never Really Here," "I Daniel Blake") and Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska and Bogna Szewczyk-Skupien ("The Brutalist," "The Testament of Ann Lee") from Polish production entity Madants. The film was developed in collaboration with BBC Film and also received funding from the Polish Film Institute cash rebate program. It will commence production in Poland September 2026.
"It's rare to find a British action thriller in this period that feels this fresh, entertaining and original," said Cornerstone's Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder said. "Cavendish is a real page-turner, with a wicked sense of humour and a bold subversion of traditional female roles. Christopher Andrews is going to create something fresh and exciting, and we can't wait to share his vision with buyers"
Andrews' debut feature "Bring Them Down" premiered at TIFF in Special Presentation in 2024. The film starred Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott and won the Douglans Hickox Award for Outstanding Debut Director at the 2024 British Independent film awards.
