Charlie Heaton (“Stranger Things,” “The Souvenir Part II,” “The New Mutants”) and Mia Wasikowska (“Bergman Island,” “Club Zero,” “Alice in Wonderland”) are set to star in romantic comedy “Twice Over,” which Athens-based boutique sales company Heretic has boarded for international sales.
The feature, directed by Alena Lodkina, is an Australian production set to shoot on location in Perth at the end of this year. The film is in pre-production and is supported by Screen Australia. It is described as “an intimate, quietly offbeat story of reconnection and emotional reckoning.”
The film, co-written by Lodkina with Miles Allinson, follows two people whose unexpected reunion stirs long-buried feelings and unspoken uncertainties about love, time and reinvention.
“Twice Over” has been cast by BAFTA and Emmy award winning casting director Shaheen Baig (“Adolescence,” “Black Mirror”).
Acclaimed cinematographer J-P Passi, whose work includes “Compartment No. 6,” “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” “The Last of Us” and “Chernobyl,” is attached to the project.
Lodkina’s previous features – “Strange Colours” (Venice Biennale College at the Venice Film Festival, 2017) and “Petrol” (Locarno Film Festival, 2022; New Directors/New Films 2023) – “established her as one of the most original voices in contemporary Australian cinema, praised for her distinctive blend of realism, mystery and emotional precision,” Heretic said.
“ ‘Twice Over’ brings together two extraordinary talents in Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Heaton, whose chemistry promises to be electric under Alena Lodkina’s daring direction,” said Ioanna Stais, head of sales and acquisitions at Heretic. “We’re thrilled to be working with such a remarkable team and to introduce this project to the international market.”
Director of narrative content, Louise Gough, said, “ ‘Twice Over’ is an exploration of the past and the present converging and in the hands of Alena Lodkina, a singular work. This tender, wry and thought-provoking story offers a different perspective on looking for love, regret and the ‘what if’ of it all. Sharp, deeply nuanced, fresh – ‘Twice Over’ is a modern love story.”
“Twice Over” is produced by Kate Glover and Nathan Lewis for Never/Sleep Pictures, Aidan O’Bryan for WBMC and Gregory Jankilevitsch for Mid-March Media. Glover previously collaborated with Heretic on Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s “Hot Milk” (Berlinale Competition) and Romain Gavras’ “Sacrifice” (TIFF Special Presentations), with Mid-March also involved in “Sacrifice.”
The film will receive major production investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest and Lotterywest. It is being executive produced by Klaudia Smieja, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Samantha Lang, Lee Hazeldene, Ioanna Stais and Giorgos Karnavas.
Heaton is repped by Gersh Agency, Independent Talent Group, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Wasikowska is repped by RGM Artists, WME and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.