Cast announced for The Briny

Francesca Annis is in the cast in Film4-backed short film The Briny.

Lucy Kirkwood’s directorial debut has just wrapped filming in Suffolk and also stars Larry Lamb, Stephen Campbell Moore, Emma Fielding and Anna-Maria Nabirye.

Olivier award-winning playwright and screenwriter Kirkwood directs from her own original script, which tells the story of a woman who believes herself to be suffering from a sympathetic pregnancy to the Royal baby.

“Our shorts slate epitomises what Film4 exists to do in finding new voices in British film - giving distinctive creative talent the chance to take their first steps into film-making with full support from industry professionals,” commented Eva Yates, senior development executive at Film4.

In preparing for the shoot, Kirkwood shadowed Paolo Sorrentino on the set of the Film4-backed Youth which is currently shooting and stars Michael Caine, Rachel Weisz, Harvey Keitel, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda.

The Briny is produced by Alex Kendall and Teresa Moneo of DNA Films, with Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich and Joanne Smith executive producing alongside Yates.

Allon Reich of DNA Films added: “We all loved Chimerica and are thrilled to be producing Lucy’s funny, touching and cinematic short film at DNA. We are sure this is just the start of her career as a writer and director for the big screen.”

Film4’s current shorts slate also includes Sean Buckley’s Polar Bear (produced by Inflammable Films) and Natasha Khan’s Gotcha (produced by Cowboy Films).