Ralph Fiennes To Direct & Star In ‘The Beacon’ With Indira Varma, Charles Babalola & Alison Oliver; Cornerstone & CAA Media Finance Launch For EFM

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List) has written and will direct The Beacon, in which he will also have a leading role alongside Olivier Award-winner Indira Varma (Obi Wan Kenobi), Charles Babalola (The Outlaws) and Alison Oliver (Saltburn).

Described as a meditation on family, class, race and identity, the contemporary UK-set drama marks Fiennes’ first feature film screenplay after previously directing The White Crow, The Invisible Woman and Coriolanus.

More from Deadline

• Berlinale's EFM Set For Busy Post-Strikes Edition As U.S. & Indian Professionals Return In Force

• HanWay Boards Cold War Thriller 'Winter Of The Crow' Starring Lesley Manville - EFM 

• Reel Suspects Boards Argentinian Horror 'Deus Irae' - EFM

The official synopsis reads: “Joshua Nyaga travels to the countryside from London to spend a summer’s weekend with his girlfriend Cass’ family for the first time. Transplanted as a young boy from the violence of the Ugandan civil war to the concrete jungle of London, Joshua has never experienced the privilege that Cass’ family enjoys.

“Surrounded by the sea and lush natural landscape, the farm is an oasis, brimming with idealistic notions and lively debate amongst Cass’ father, stepmother and their longtime friend of the family, Michael. But Joshua’s warm welcome is short lived, when a sudden act of violent racism at a local summer concert shatters the peace forcing Joshua and those around him to confront the uncomfortable truth of their differences.”

Cornerstone is launching international sales ahead of the upcoming EFM with CAA Media Finance representing domestic. The film is due to start production this summer in Suffolk, England.

A Potboiler Productions film, the project reunites Fiennes with producer Gail Egan after their previous collaboration on Oscar winner The Constant Gardener. Egan’s credits include A Most Wanted Man, Our Kind Of Traitor, Mr. Turner, Peterloo and Another Year.

Fiennes’ recent movie credits as an actor include The Menu, No Time to Die and The Kings Man, while Edward Berger’s Conclave and The Return with Juliette Binoche are both in post. Varma is coming off the latest Mission Impossible movie, Doctor Who and Obi Wan Kenobi. The Outlaws, Gretel & Hansel and Mary Magdalene actor Babalola will next be seen in Eli Roth action movie Borderlands. Oliver is coming off Conversations With Friends, Saltburn and will next be seen in Justin Kurzel’s The Order.

Cornerstone’s EFM slate also includes Andrea Arnold’s Bird starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, Mike Leigh’s next film, medical drama A Mistake with Elizabeth Banks, and The Iceman, starring Joseph Fiennes.

Ralph Fiennes is represented by 42 and CAA; Varma by 42 and Principle Entertainemt LA; Babalola by Denton Brierley and Alchemy Entertainment; and Oliver by Curtis Brown and CAA.

Best of Deadline

• 2024 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

• ‘Dune: Part Two’ Movie Posters and Images: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin & More

• Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024: Photo Gallery & Obituaries

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.