Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald & Madeleine Madden Starring In Horror ‘Saccharine’ For ‘Relic’ Director, Filming Underway In Australia

EXCLUSIVE: Filming is underway in Australia on Saccharine, with Grey’s Anatomy and The Sex Lives of College Girls star Midori Francis in the lead role.

The under-the-radar project marks the third film from writer-director Natalie Erika James, following Julia Garner horror Apartment 7A and breakout horror hit Relic with Emily Mortimer.

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James again partners with producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films, whose credits include Relic, Run Rabbit Run and Snowtown.

The movie follows Hana (Francis), a lovelorn medical student who becomes terrorised by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes.

Starring alongside Francis are Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$) playing Josie, Hana’s best friend, and Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time) as Alanya, a personal trainer and fitness influencer.

The project is a Carver Films and Thrum Films production. Production investment comes from Screen Australia, XYZ in conjunction with IPR.VC, and Stan, in association with VicScreen. Co-producer is Ben Morgan.

Pic will be distributed theatrically in Australia and New Zealand by Maslow Entertainment and will launch as a Stan Original Film on Stan. XYZ Films is handling world sales.

Saccharine is currently filming at Docklands Studios Melbourne and various locations around Melbourne.

Natalie Erika James said of the project: “There is so much toxic messaging around weight and appearance that permeates every corner of our culture. Saccharine is an intimate look into one woman’s struggle with body image, self-worth, and shame-driven compulsion, told through a supernatural body-horror with a queer lens and an edge of the absurd.”

Producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films added: “Saccharine explodes off the page with Natalie’s bold vision. To team with her again is such a sweet pleasure for us. We can’t wait to see Midori, Danielle and Madeleine bring these incredible women to life.”

Midori Francis is represented by William Morris Endeavor, Circle Management + Production, and Johnson Shapiro; Danielle Macdonald is represented by CAA and Justice & Ponder; and Madeleine Madden is represented by Sue Barnett & Associates Australia.

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