Australian actors Ben Mendelsohn, Sophie Lowe and Gary Sweet have joined the cast of Australian-French co-production The Grandmothers.
They join the principal cast of Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville in a tale about two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other's teenaged sons. Jessica Tovey (Underbelly, Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo) will also make her feature debut in the film.
The Grandmothers has been adapted for the screen by Academy Award-winning writer Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement) from a story written by Nobel Prize for Literature winner Doris Lessing.
The eight-week shoot marks the English-language debut for director Anne Fontaine (Coco avant Chanel) and is due to begin on Monday (February 6) in Sydney.
The film is being produced by Hopscotch Productions' Andrew Mason; Fontaine's long-time collaborator Philippe Carcassonne; as well as French producers' Mon Voisin's Michel Feller and Dominique Besnehard. Hopscotch's Troy Lum and Gaumont's Francis Boespflug will act as executive producers.
The film is expected to be released in 2013 in Australia and New Zealand by Hopscotch Films/eOne while international sales will be managed by Gaumont.
Contact this reporter at bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.