Joel Edgerton Felicity Jones

Source: Gerhard Kassner / Margo Hagopian

Joel Edgerton / Felicity Jones

Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones have signed on to star in the epic drama Train Dreams, which Black Bear is fully financing and will introduce to EFM buyers in Berlin next week.

Clint Bentley (Jockey) directs and production is set to begin in April in Washington State. WME Independent handles US sales.

Train Dreams is described as a “sweeping and poignant” tale of Robert Grainier (Edgerton), a day labourer employed as a logger helping to expand the railways across America.

Forced to spend prolonged periods of time away from his wife, Gladys (Jones) and their young daughter, Grainier struggles to make sense of his place in a rapidly changing world.

As his story unfolds, he experiences great love, unspeakable loss, and forges unique bonds.

Bentley and Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) co-wrote the screenplay, adapted from Denis Johnson’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novella. Damien Ober wrote a previous draft of the script.

Marissa McMahon and Ashley Schlaifer are producing for Kamala Films, withWill Janowitz, and Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler for Black Bear. Black Bear’s John Friedberg, along with Kwedar, Casey Affleck, and Scott Hinckley, will serve as executive producers. 

Black Bear also financed Colman Domingo starrer Sing Sing, which premiered at TIFF and will play at SXSW in March before its theatrical release later through A24 later this year.