Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Katherine Waterston have joined survival film The End We Start From, starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and directed by BAFTA-winning director Mahalia Belo (Ellen, Requiem, The Long Song).
The film is based on the heart-wrenching novel by Megan Hunter and adapted for the screen by BAFTA-nominated Alice Birch (Normal People, Succession), a hopeful story about the trials and joys of new motherhood in the midst of devastating floods that swallow up the city of London. “When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters, a young family is torn apart in the chaos,” according to a plot description. “As a woman and her new-born try to find their way home, the profound novelty of motherhood is brought into sharp focus in this dystopian portrayal of family survival and hope.”
Comer said: “My character is ordinary and extraordinary, both her very personal life and the world around her have been turned upside down and she is dealing with the unknown at every turn. Her story is about the quiet heroics of determination, devotion, bravery and love.”
Cast members joining Comer also include Strong (1917, Kingsman), Joel Fry (Cruella), Gina McKee (My Policeman), Waterston (Fantastic Beasts), Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials) and Cumberbatch.
The film is produced by Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland (The Mauritanian) for Cumberbatch’s production firm SunnyMarch, Liza Marshall (Temple) for Hera Pictures, Amy Jackson (Aftersun) and Sophie Hunter. Executive producers are Cumberbatch, Comer, Strong, Sébastien Raybaud, Fanny Soulier, Pieter Engels, Kate Maxwell for Anton, Dave Caplan and Jason Cloth for C2 Motion Picture Group, Eva Yates and Claudia Yusef for BBC Film and Lizzie Francke for the British Film Institute.
