The news is out! Alice Birch will make her feature directorial debut with Sweetsick, a Film4-backed title starring the incomparable Cate Blanchett.

Written and directed by Birch, Sweetsick centres on a mercurial woman with a strange and piercing gift – she can see what people need most in life. Her journey home becomes an exploration of connection, desire and self-discovery. Filming will take place this autumn in the UK and Greece.

Best known for writing Lady Macbeth and adapting Sally Rooney’s Normal People and Conversations with Friends, Birch said:

“I could not be more excited to be making my debut feature as a director with such an extraordinary team of filmmakers and collaborators. To have the peerless Cate Blanchett at the centre of it is thrilling.”

The film is produced by Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Theo Barrowclough for House Productions, alongside Blanchett and her Dirty Films banner, with Lee Groombridge also producing. Film4 will executive produce and co-finance alongside Searchlight Pictures, who are backing the project.

House Productions co-founder Tessa Ross said:

“We’re all very big believers in Alice Birch and it’s been wonderful to see that the fantastic team she’s gathered around her, not least the amazing Cate, feel the same way – all drawn in by her bold, beautiful vision.”

Farhana Bhula, Director of Film4, and Alice Whittemore, Development and Production Executive, are overseeing the project for Film4.

With two Oscars to her name (Blue Jasmine, The Aviator) and acclaimed performances in Carol, Tár and Notes on a Scandal, Blanchett joins a powerhouse team bringing Birch’s distinctive voice to the screen.