EXCLUSIVE: Eva Green, Ben Whishaw and Alessandro Nivola are set to join Raffey Cassidy in the cast of Antonia Campbell-Hughes upcoming body thriller Diamond Shitter.
Beta Cinema unveiled the casting additions as it boarded the feature, for a pre-sales launch at the EFM.
Produced by London and Dublin-based Sleeper Films, Diamond Shitter is filmmaker and actor Campbell-Hughes’ second feature after her directorial debut It Is In Us All, which premiered to critical acclaim at SXSW in 2022. Campbell-Hughes will also take a supporting role in the feature.
Diamond Shitter unfolds against the backdrop of the affluent expat community in Geneva. Cassidy will star as young intern Nollaig who ignites a darkly visceral shift within the privileged home of her host family when she steals their precious diamonds, absorbing them into her body. In the process, she unmasks the deeper truths beneath their glittering privilege.
“In a time of emotional fatigue, we crave the beauty of justice. This film is a primal howl, a white-knuckle ride that explores the devastating fragility of the human condition,” said Campbell-Hughes.
“I wish to reinstate hope, to reassess what constitutes value and worth in our ricocheting society. I have found a truly thrilling cast to bring to life this searing piece, written from lived experience, which has driven me for over a decade.”
As an actor, Campbell-Hughes is best known for the portrayal of Natascha Kampusch in the Sherry Hormann/Michael Ballhaus biopic 3096 Days (2013) and lead roles in Jane Campion’s Bright Star (2009), Cannes-premiere The Other Side of Sleep (2011), the BAFTA-winning Kelly + Victor (2012), Netflix series Black Doves, and the title role in psychological thriller Cordelia (2019).
Her directorial debut It Is In Us All – starring Cosmo Jarvis as a man who returns to his ancestral home of Donegal and is drawn in by a teenager (Rhys Mannion) who nearly kills him in a car crash. It won praise for its haunting exploration of masculinity and garnered multiple awards and nominations, including the Extraordinary Cinematic Vision award at SXSW.
“It Is In Us All is such a striking debut, heralding Antonia as a truly unique film-making voice. Diamond Shitter is a natural next cinematic step, visceral and thought-provoking, a film of propulsion and purpose that we can’t wait to bring to life,” said producer Rory Gilmartin at Sleeper Films.
Cassidy attachment to the film follows her critically acclaimed performances in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) and Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux (2018). She currently stars in a pivotal role in Corbet’s The Brutalist alongside Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones.
BAFTA-winning actress Eva Green stars as Helen, Nollaig’s host mother. Renowned for her role as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006), Green’s more recent credits include Three Musketeers (2023) and Proxima (2019).
Celebrated screen and stage actor Whishaw (The Lobster, Women Talking, Black Doves) will take on the role of Nollaig’s mentor Nigel. Fresh from his critically acclaimed performances in Almodovar’s The Room Next Door and The Brutalist, Nivola is cast as the host father David.
The film is produced by Sleeper Films, run by Gilmartin (Christy, Herself, Calm With Horses), Lee Magiday (In The Shadows, The Favourite, The Lobster), and Wilf Varvill, in coproduction with the UK’s Smoke Puppy, and with Max Karli and Pauline Gygax of Geneva based Rita Productions (La Ligne, Continental Drift, My Life As a Courgette).
The film is an Irish-Swiss-UK coproduction supported by Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland, the Swiss Federal office of Culture/FOC, RTS/SSR SRG, Cinéforom and Praesens. The screenplay was developed with support from the BFI and Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland.
Currently in preproduction, principal photography will take place in Switzerland and Ireland.
Cassidy is represented by UTA, Conway van Gelder Grant, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Green is represented by UTA and Chalcot Square Arts and Media Management.
Nivola is represented by UTA, Tavistock Wood Management, Range Media Partners, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Whishaw is represented by Hamilton Hodell and CAA. Campbell-Hughes is represented by United Agents, Entertainment 360 and The Artists Partnership.
Beta Cinema is handling international sales with UTA Independent Film Group repping North American rights.
English (US) ·