Cynthia Erivo Starrer ‘Prima Facie’, Based On The Hit Stage Play, Heads To Cannes Market With Embankment, UTA & CAA — Hot Project

By Andreas Wiseman

Cynthia ErivoMark Seliger

EXCLUSIVE: The feature adaptation of acclaimed play Prima Facie, which will star three-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo, is heading to the Cannes market.

Wicked star Erivo will lead cast and executive-produce under her Edith’s Daughter banner, and The Father outfit Embankment Films will launch world sales with UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance co-representing domestic.

Erivo — in the role popularised in the West End and on Broadway by Jodie Comer — will play a British defence barrister who exudes enviable brilliance in navigating the ruthless and gladiatorial London courtrooms. She is formidable in her defence of men charged with sexual assault; but just as she is fast-tracking to stardom, the tide turns to crisis, and she must fight to define herself.

As previously reported, Suzie Miller’s screenplay film adaptation of her Olivier-winning, and Tony nominated play, is to be directed by BAFTA winner Susanna White (Our Kind of Traitor). The production now teams Bunya Productions producers Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey (Sweet Country, High Ground) with Embankment’s Kevin Loader, producer of The Death Of Stalin and Lady In The Van. Erivo will exec-produce alongside Solome Williams. Director White and writer Miller will also executive produce.

A couple of years ago the project was in the works with Participant — which has subsequently shut down — but this is its first outing with sellers at a market.

Embankment’s Hugo Grumbar said: “Suzie’s phenomenal play captivated audiences across 32 countries. The movie promises powerhouse performances – balancing intense sharp-witted conflict with the tenderness of the best of protective human instinct – brave, bold, and laced with wit and delicacy.”

Director Susanna White added: “I am excited by the challenge of moving Prima Facie forward into a new life that plays to the strengths of cinema. It has been great working with Suzie Miller on the script to give Tessa a powerful inner life on screen and I’m thrilled to have an actress with the strength of Cynthia Erivo come on board. The statistics are staggering; up to one in three women have been sexually assaulted, with as few as one in ten reported, and less than 2% of trials end in conviction. That stark reality deserves the collective emotional experience of today’s questioning and inquisitive movie audiences.”

Miller commented: “I am thrilled to have the brilliant Cynthia Erivo sign on to the film version of Prima Facie; Cynthia is a highly talented and nuanced actor who has fed into the script and will create a bold and dynamic Tessa for the screen. I am also excited to be working with such a talented and collaborative director in Susanna White, as well as Bunya Productions, Kevin Loader and Embankment – these companies are truly committed to telling great stories that have real world impact. As a team we have all organically united in a passionate artistic vision and a commitment to making a work that challenges social structures.”

Erivo is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360, and Peikoff Mahan; White by CAA and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates; Miller by CAA, HLA Management, The Agency, and Jackoway Austen.