Aislinn Clarke To Helm ‘Hellish Nell’ For The Picture Company & Studiocanal; Saga Of Last UK Woman Convicted & Imprisoned For Witchcraft

Mike Fleming Jr
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Aislinn Clarke is set to direct Hellish Nell, the genre thriller for Studiocanal and The Picture Company.

From Black List writer Chris Basler, Hellish Nell is a chilling horror-thriller based on the real-life medium Helen Duncan, the last UK citizen convicted and imprisoned for witchcraft. Based on the book Hellish Nell: Last of Britain’s Witches by Malcolm Gaskill, the movie follows Helen’s harrowing journey as her innate powers change her life and those closest to her.

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Aislinn Clarke is the first woman to direct a horror film in her native Ireland. There, she made her debut with The Devil’s Doorway. That film was released by IFC Midnight in 2018 after premiering at Sitges, where Clarke was nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award. She followed with Frewaka, and is in post production on the Irish language horror film produced by DoubleBand Films and Wildcard. She is the 2019 recipient of the second Academy Gold Fellowship for Women grant honoring and supporting emerging women filmmakers. Aislinn was the only director nominated for the Rising Genre Star Award at Frightfest.

The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman & Andrew Rona will produce through their overall deal with Studiocanal. They’ve been busy. The spy thriller Role Play starring Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo is set to be released by MGM/Amazon in early 2024;  The Picture Company are among producers on the upcoming James Mangold-directed Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which Timothee Chalamet is starring in for Searchlight Pictures and they are in preproduction on the Studiocanal-financed Control, an international thriller starring James McAvoy and directed by Robert Schwentke.

Ron Halpern and Shana Eddy will oversee for Studiocanal. Clarke is repped by CAA, UK-based Matthew Dench, Raquelle David at Lit Entertainment Group and Melissa Rogal at Lichter Grossman. Basler is repped by UTA, Grandview and Zifferen.

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