‘Kirsty's Promise:' Indie British Thriller Hits EFM With ‘In The Arms Of The The Tree' Outfit Lucky Matrix
EXCLUSIVE: Portuguese-based sales and distribution company Lucky Matrix, best known as the outfit behind Iran's 2024 Oscar submission In The Arms Of The The Tree, has added the indie British flick Kirsty's Promise to its EFM slate.
Kirsty's Promise is the directorial debut from Bristol-based writer Jeff Notton. The film is a Bristol-set dramatic thriller. The story follows ex-addict Kirsty, played by Simone McIntyre, who risks her new life by re-entering the brutal world of heroin and prostitution, and unknowingly the stalking grounds of a serial killer, to save her best friend Becky, played by Bear Thompson.
More from Deadline
'Bisesero: A Daughter's Story:' Eugene Boateng Joins Pan-African Rwanda Genocide Drama - EFM
Natalie Portman-Lena Dunham Rom-Com 'Good Sex' Sparks EFM Bidding War With Offers At $45M+
Roeg Sutherland Says He's Bullish On Indie Cinema Sector As B.O. & Foreign Sales Edge Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels - EFM
This film is produced under Simone McIntyre's Orley Productions. The official synopsis reads: Kirsty's Promise is a thriller that centers on the relationship between two friends. Kirsty has escaped heroin addiction and the dangerous world of sex work to facilitate this addiction, only with massive fortitude and determination.
She cherishes her new life with her partner and two young daughters and is desperate for her mate, Becky, still trapped in a cycle of drug dependency and sex work, to do the same. However, as Becky finds herself in deep trouble with a ruthless drug dealer, Kirsty is pulled back into a violent world she fought so hard to be free of, creating a deadly threat to her and her family. As events build to a brutal climax, Kirsty must decide how much she will risk for her friend. The film was shot entirely in Briston, England.
'We are delighted to team up with Lucky Matrix to share this beautiful film with audiences worldwide,' McIntyre said.
Lucky Matrix's Phil Ox added: 'If you were drawn to the raw emotional power of Tyrannosaur or Fish Tank, you won't want to miss this gripping movie. Directed by first-time filmmaker Jeff Notton, the film delves into the complexities of friendship, addiction, and the struggles of sex workers. Featuring standout performances by Simone McIntyre and Bear Thompson, it's a fearless exploration of resilience and survival— relevant, socially aware, and surprisingly watchable.'
Check out the film's trailer below.
Best of Deadline
How To Watch The 'SNL50' Anniversary Concert And Three-Hour Special This Weekend
Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More
'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Internet celebrity Tiki is up for adoption. The waitlist is full.
Internet celebrity Tiki is up for adoption. The waitlist is full. Show Caption Hide Caption Foster dog Tiki's viral TikTok journey from fear to affection, and now, adoption Tiki, a rescue dog in Los Angeles, overcomes his traumatic past with love and patience. Now, he's ready for adoption, with hundreds of hopeful applicants. Tiki, who melted millions of hearts with his innocence and recovery, is now up for adoption, his foster Isabel Klee said. The plot twist, however, is that applications and the waitlist are both full after the 5-year-old dog received more than 100 applications in just the first hour alone. The pooch, who got a new lease on life after he was rescued from dire circumstances, became social media famous after Klee documented his journey on TikTok, with some of the videos garnering millions of views. "The response has been so heartwarming," Klee, a content creator and upcoming author based in Brooklyn, told USA TODAY. "The world can be a really harsh place, especially right now. There's a lot going on, and I think everybody just kind of needed this story that was feel good and hopeful to turn to." Tiki's virality also helped New York-based Muddy Paws Rescue, who connected Klee with Tiki, raise over $200,000 through Tiki-themed merchandise and donations, Klee said. Tiki refused to leave his bed when he first came home When Klee first brought him home, Tiki did not eat, drink or leave his bed even to go to the bathroom. Klee was unable to reveal the circumstances in which Tiki was rescued due to privacy concerns, but said she was made aware of the situation, which wasn't very great, when she picked him up for fostering. "There was this big fear he wouldn't get better," Klee said. "There were nights when I would just lay awake looking at my ceiling, wondering what the outcome would be." "Before I picked him up, ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) told us this dog was in really bad shape, and they didn't know if he was going to be able to be rehabilitated," Klee said. "We didn't know what his outcome would be. But Muddy Paws Rescue and I decided to pull him anyway, because I feel all dogs deserve the chance to get better, and a lot of dogs can't get better in a shelter environment, because it can be really stressful." Slowly but steadily, things started looking up. "Day by day, he did get better," Klee said. "I kind of just sat back and learned to exist with him. I didn't push him. I let him come out of his shell on his own." It started with Tiki first only putting his paw outside the crate. Then he started drinking water, then eating. "Every day it was something new, until eventually he was crawling into my lap and asking for cuddles," Klee said. "It happened really slowly, but day by day, he got braver and braver." Curious little pup Klee said it took almost 13 days for her to touch Tiki for the first time because of how hesitant he was. But when it finally happened, "it was well worth the wait." After more than a month in Klee's care, Tiki is now also getting warmed up to being around other people and pets. While he isn't entirely comfortable in their presence, like when Klee has people over, he does come outside and hangs out with them, observing everybody. "He is very curious," Klee said. "He met my mom and allowed her to give him kisses and pets. Every single day with every person he meets, he gets a little braver, and he comes out of his shell a little bit more." Tiki's favorite things As Tiki came out of his shell, one of his favorite things to do is sit with dirty laundry. "He's obsessed with our dirty laundry," Klee laughed. "It sounds really funny, but he'll go into the hamper and take out, like a shirt that I wore and cuddle with it, which is just the cutest thing. He also loves our shoes. It's like he loves to cuddle with the things that smell like us. He never destroys them, he just likes to sit with them." As for his favorite snack, "he's obsessed with cheese," mostly cheddar, Klee said. Tiki and Simon Klee may be putting in most of the effort, but Tiki's favorite person in the house is her 6-year-old dog Simon, who she adopted after fostering him when he was just a little puppy. "Simon is the best partner in fostering," Klee gushed. "He is just so patient (and) understanding. He gets it. He understands these dogs need help and teaches them to be a dog again." Klee credited Simon with teaching Tiki how to play with toys and encouraging Tiki to go outside for the first time. "Having a confident dog in the house is just like the best possible thing when you're fostering a fearful dog," Klee shared. Isabel and Simon have fostered 20 dogs together Klee and Simon have fostered 20 dogs together, though Klee has been fostering dogs for much longer. The content creator shared she's been fostering dogs since she was 25 but took a long break when she adopted Simon after fostering him. "Simon has a lot of complicated health issues so I stopped fostering for a number of years, and then picked it back up about two years ago," Klee said, adding the two have now fostered 20 dogs together. Depending on the dog's need, fosters have been as short as a few days and as long as two months. "It's been a lot, (but) I find it so rewarding," Klee said. "Of course, there are difficult moments, but I think the joyful moments far outweigh it." She added: "Tiki is such a great example. Four weeks (in) and he's a completely different dog. Just being that vessel for change and seeing them grow over a short amount of time is the most magical thing." Tips for fostering For anyone looking into fostering dogs, Klee's word of advice would be to have patience. "Patience is the most important thing," Klee, who is also in process of writing a book on fostering, said. "Whether that's being frustrated that the dog is peeing inside, or that they're barking at you or, whatever it may be. Just come at it with patience and the understanding that this dog is in a brand-new space, and (that) it's scary and terrifying (for them)." Tiki is not going to be with Klee much longer, given the overwhelming response received on his adoption application. However, an adoption doesn't mean their relationship would come to an end. Klee shared she always exchanges information with any family that adopts the dogs she has fostered, and "most of them still keep in touch" with her. "I get pictures all the time," Klee said, adding it is up to the adopter on whether they want to keep a relationship with her. "Luckily most people find the dogs through my page, so they usually do want to keep in touch. I'm very happy about that." Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
Cosmopolitan
2 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
Ginny and Georgia season 3 ending explained: Theories on what will happen after cliffhanger
*Spoilers alert* Cancel all your weekend plans. Ginny & Georgia series three just dropped, and it's the most binge-worthy season of all. To quickly recap, series two ended with Georgia getting arrested for the murder of Tom Fuller. In peak Netflix drama fashion, the police crashed her wedding to Mayor Paul Randolph and read Georgia her rights during their first dance. As for the final scenes? They closed the show with Georgia at the police station, having her mugshots taken in her wedding dress. Now, with 10 new episodes picking up right where things left off (plus plenty of other intense subplots), there is *so* much to unpack. From whether or not Georgia is convicted of the crime, to where her relationship with Paul stands, the season three content makes for a pretty epic finale. Carry on reading to find out what happens at the end of Ginny & Georgia series three. Sarah Lampert, Ginny & Georgia's creator, recently spoke to Deadline about the series in general and the bombshell ending. She said: "For season three, the question I asked is, 'What would it take to break Georgia?' And I mean that coming from a place of love for Georgia, because I think she needs to break to build. So season 3 was about getting her to a place of being able to build her back differently in season 4." With that, as the season progresses, we see Georgia grapple with her new reality: that she actually might get sent to prison for her crimes. Or at least just one of them. If you remember, at the end of episode four, Gabriel, the private investigator hired to expose Georgia's secrets in series two, tells the jury that he thinks they're dealing with a serial killer. And of course, he's not wrong. But in true Georgia style, she finds a way to potentially change her fate. With the help of Ginny (who makes more questionable decisions than ever this season), the mother-daughter duo convince Georgia's younger son, Austin, to pin the murder on his dad, Gil. Ginny tells her brother that if their mother goes to prison, Gil, who has a history of being abusive, is going to move him away to Michigan. As Ginny puts it, he has to "choose between his mom and his dad" going to prison. After showing Austin a bruise on her arm inflicted by Gil, Georgia adds: "It's a murder trial, we have to give them a murderer." They also create a motive: that Austin overheard Georgia and Cynthia (Tom's wife) talking about how they blocked Gil's apartment application, so that he could be closer to his son. (For those who remember, this is partially true - Cynthia made it happen after witnessing Gil become violent toward Georgia at their kids' school.) Ultimately, Austin decides that he doesn't want to be split from Ginny and Georgia, and takes the stand as the only witness. He commits perjury, telling the jury that Gil was the person responsible for killing Tom. Prior to this, Ginny also convinces Cynthia to go along with this story. At first, Cynthia rejects the idea, but after Ginny blackmails her - she says she has evidence of her and Joe's affair on the cameras at Blue Farm - she concedes. After lying to the jury, Cynthia finds out that Ginny was also lying: the cafe doesn't have cameras, so she couldn't physically prove their affair. Because of this, at the end of the season, we see Georgia walk free. Cue a potential storyline where Cynthia seeks revenge on Ginny. Despite Georgia skipping jail time, the whole charade takes its toll on Paul. And when Georgia makes a truly unforgivable decision - telling Paul she's pregnant with Ginny's positive pregnancy test, which is a whole other story - he finally divorces her. But here's the twist. During the final moments of the last episode, Georgia drinks from a regular milk bottle. Though this sounds like an insignificant detail, Ginny reminds her that this was one of her pregnancy symptoms. The only problem? We don't know who the father is, because Georgia had slept with Paul and Joe around the same time. Err, major cliffhanger alert. In another turn of events, Lampert explained: "I know whose baby she's carrying, but I went into the writer's room this season and I said, 'Here's who the daddy is,'" before changing her mind. The creator also said that Georgia is "single as a Pringle" at the end of the season. As for Ginny, who fell pregnant with Wolfe's baby (the guy from her poetry class), the season ends with her dealing with her relationship with Marcus. During the 10 episodes, we see Marcus struggling with depression and addiction, alongside his on-and-off relationship with Ginny. Though the pair confess their love to each other, Ginny realises that she needs to let Marcus focus on himself before they can be together. We already know that Ginny & Georgia was renewed for season four. So right now, it's unclear whether a season five is on the horizon. However, Lampert said that there is still so much story left to tell. She revealed: "I always thought it would end at season four, just because I knew what the ending was, let's say. But what we're finding in the writers' room for this season is that there's actually more there. "It would almost feel rushed to get to that ending for it to happen in four [seasons]. I'm not Netflix. I can't control whether or not there's a season five, but I would say what we discovered very early on is, oh, there's more story here." Oh, you're killing us here!
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
Aaron Taylor-Johnson leads '28 Years Later.' Here's where you might recognize the rest of the cast from.
"28 Years Later" is the long-gestating sequel to Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later." Aaron Taylor-Johnson leads the film alongside newcomer Alfie Williams. Here's where you might recognize the rest of the cast from. " 28 Years Later" brings the terrifying Rage virus back to the big screen as director Danny Boyle returns to examine postapocalyptic Britain once more. It's the third film in the franchise following 2007's "28 Weeks Later" and is released on June 20. It picks up decades after the initial outbreak turned the British population into bloodthirsty, sprinting zombies. "28 Years Later" revolves around the inhabitants of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of Northumberland. The tide cuts Lindisfarne off from the mainland most of the time, keeping it safe from the infected. Things get bloody when Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is tasked with taking his son Spike, played by newcomer Alfie Williams, to the world beyond the island. While Boyle has recruited some talented actors for "28 Years Later," Cillian Murphy won't return to the franchise just yet. Here's where you've seen the main cast before. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is known for movies like "Kick-Ass," "Kraven the Hunter," and "Nosferatu." Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Jamie in "28 Years Later," and he takes his son onto the mainland, where they come face-to-face with the infected. The actor previously starred in the " Kick-Ass" movies, and played superhero Quicksilver in "Avengers: Age of Ultron." He also appeared in the 2014 "Godzilla" reboot and had a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's "Tenet." Last year he led Sony's " Kraven the Hunter" movie as the titular Marvel villain, before getting his first brush with the horror genre in " Nosferatu." Jodie Comer made her name in British dramas like "Doctor Foster" and recently starred in movies like "Free Guy" and "The Bikeriders." Jodie Comer plays Jamie's wife Isla (and Spike's mother) in "28 Years Later." Comer started her career by starring in buzzy British dramas like "My Mad Fat Diary," "Doctor Foster," and "Killing Eve." She made the jump to Hollywood in the last five years, and worked with Ryan Reynolds on "Free Guy," and starred opposite Ben Affleck and Adam Driver in Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel." Ralph Fiennes played Voldemort in "Harry Potter" and led 2024's "Conclave." Ralph Fiennes plays the mysterious Dr Ian Kelson in "28 Years later." The actor is one of the most famous British stars of the past 30 years, following Oscar-nominated performances in films such as "Schindler's List," "The English Patient," and 2024's "Conclave." He may be best known for playing Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" franchise, and the new M in Daniel Craig's " James Bond" movies. Jack O'Connell started out in "Skins" but recently appeared in "Back to Black" and "Sinners." Jack O'Connell plays Sir Jimmy Crystal in "28 Years Later," but the details of his role are being kept secret and out of the film's marketing material. He rose to fame thanks to his role as Cook in the teen drama, "Skins," before starring in critically acclaimed British movies and shows including "This Is England," "Eden Lake," and "'71." He later appeared in Netflix's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" opposite Emma Corrin, and played Amy Winehouse's husband, Blake Felder-Civil, in "Back to Black." In 2024, O'Connell portrayed the vampire villain, Remmick, in Ryan Coogler's " Sinners." Erin Kellyman starred in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier" before "28 Years Later." Erin Kellyman plays Jimmy Ink in "28 Years Later," but her role has been kept out of the marketing for the film. She also got her start in British TV thanks to shows like "Raised By Wolves" and the "Les Misérables" miniseries. She started to get more attention after her brief role as rebel pirate Enfys Nest in " Solo: A Star Wars Story," which led to her playing villain Karli Morgenthau in the Marvel series, " The Falcon and The Winter Soldier."
