Protagonist Pictures handle sales on Film4 and BFI-backed debut feature.

Principal photography has begun on Saint Maud, a psychological horror film that marks the feature debut of rising star writer/director Rose Glass. 

Morfydd Clark (The Personal History of David Copperfield, Love & Friendship) plays Maud, a young religious private carer who becomes dangerously fixated with saving the soul of her glamorous patient Amanda (Jennifer Ehle – Zero Dark Thirty, The Miseducation of Cameron Post).

Saint Maud is produced by debut feature producer Oliver Kassman for Escape Plan Productions, alongside Andrea Cornwell (Apostasy, Suite Francaise). The film has been supported through development and is being co-financed by Film4 and BFI (using funds from the National Lottery). The executive producers are Mary Burke for the BFI Film Fund, and Sam Lavender and Daniel Battsek for Film4. The film shoots for five weeks in North London and Scarborough. Protagonist Pictures are handling worldwide sales. 

“We’re thrilled to be part of Rose’s feature debut. We worked with Rose on her Channel 4 horror short and quickly wanted to take her to feature,” says Sam Lavender, Senior Commissioning Executive, Film4. “Her vision for the film is what has brought us all along for the ride and has put chills up our spines from the start. We can’t wait to see her and her terrific cast bring this story to life.” 

Rose Glass graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2014. Her graduation short film Room 55 was selected for film festivals around the world including SXSW, Palm Springs and the BFI London Film Festival. Her other short films include Juliet, made in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, and Bath Time, commissioned by Film4 as one of the broadcaster’s ‘Moments of Horror’ horror shorts in 2015, which began her relationship with Film4’s creative team. She was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2018 and was selected to take part in the Guiding Lights mentoring scheme, with whom she is being mentored by Irish writer/director Carmel Winters. She is represented by Casarotto Ramsay. 

“We love working with exciting debut filmmakers like Rose Glass and with Saint Maud we are convinced she will deliver an exceptional and unsettling psychological thriller”, adds Protagonist Pictures CEO Dave Bishop. 

Rose Glass comments: “We have the most phenomenal cast, led by Morfydd and Jennifer. I am so excited to be setting out on this production with such fantastic collaborators and crew!”