BFI Distribution has picked up Tilda Swinton and Joanna Hogg’s latest collaboration, The Eternal Daughter, for theatrical release in the UK and Ireland.
The pic will hit cinemas this autumn and form the centerpiece of a Joanna Hogg retrospective season hosted at BFI Southbank that will also include a programme of films that have influenced her work.
The Eternal Daughter is the BFI’s second acquisition from A24, following the Irish drama God’s Creatures, starring Paul Mescal and Emily Watson earlier this year. The film also marks Hogg and Swinton’s third collaboration following the acclaimed two-part Souvenir series, which starred Swinton’s daughter Honor Swinton Byrne.
Written and directed by Hogg with Martin Scorsese once again on board as Executive Producer, the film follows an artist and her elderly mother who confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past. The film is an Element Pictures production with the support of A24, BBC Film, JWH Films, and Sikelia Productions.
Shot in secret in Wales during the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown, Swinton is on double duty in the film, playing both mother and daughter. The small cast is rounded out by Joseph Mydell and Carly-Sophia Davies.
The film had its world premiere at Venice and went on to play TIFF and had its UK premiere at LFF. A24 gave the film a US release last December.
Announcing the acquisition, Jason Wood, BFI Director of Public Programme & Audiences said: “Joanna Hogg has one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary cinema and The Eternal Daughter carries many of the hallmarks of her work; a compelling lead performance, a unique take on relationships and character dynamics, and an attention to sound design.”
