MADALINA GHENEA & ED WESTWICK TO STAR IN SHARK SURVIVAL-THRILLER “DEEP FEAR”

House of Gucci breakout star, Madalina Ghenea (Youth, Dom Hemingway) is set to play the lead role in hotly anticipated shark survival-thriller, Deep Fear, alongside Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl, Children of Men, Chalet Girl) who will co-star. Principal photography will take place in Malta and the West Indies from January 2022.

Set in the Caribbean, Deep Fear is an intense and visceral survival thriller with furious action throughout.  Madalina Ghenea stars as Naomi, an accomplished round-the-world yachtswoman, who sets out on a solo trip to meet her boyfriend, Jackson – played by Ed Westwick – in Grenada. Her tranquil three-day sail aboard 47-foot yacht ‘The Serenity’ takes an unexpectedly dark turn when a storm forces her off the plotted course.

Circumnavigating an uninhabited reef-fringed island, she responds to a distress signal to aid a sinking vessel where she finds three survivors clinging to the shattered remains of a boat. Events soon take a malevolent twist when it transpires the survivors are drug traffickers who force Naomi to dive down into the hull of the sunken wreck to retrieve 850 kilos of cocaine. The plan is thwarted when Naomi finds herself surrounded by a frenzy of man-eating tiger sharks – lured by the dead bodies in the wreck. In a tense and deadly undersea attack, Naomi must use her wits and determination to survive.

Directed by Marcus Adams (Long Time Dead, Octane, The Marksman) with screenplay co-written by Robert Capelli Jr (The Rules (for Men), Mail Order Bride) and Sophia Eptamentis (Invincible Summer, What Exit?), Deep Fear is produced Brilliant Pictures’ Sean O’Kelly (Marin Call, Iron Sky) and Marc Bikindou (Black Dahlia, Deception) together with Halo Pictures’ Engelbert Grech (The Raft, Heroes in the Sky) and Chris Bongirne (100 Feet, W.E., The Virtuoso).

Director, Marcus Adams, said: “This script presents the opportunity to create a truly original context for the genre. The malevolent narcos characters juxtapose acutely with Naomi and Jackson, an earnest and honourable couple who are daring to live their dream of running a yacht chartering business in the West Indies. Essentially ordinary folk thrust into an extraordinary situation, Naomi and Jackson are forced to do combat with both the narcos and one of nature’s most awesome apex predators; creating a three-way battle that elicits tension and fear at every turn. Such a dramatic scenario, set within the breath-taking West Indies, facilitates an incredible opportunity to produce stunning photography both above and below the water. Combined with very latest post production techniques, that will capture the intense threat of the apex predator, I intend to make Deep Fear a heart-in-mouth, white knuckle ride.”

Madalina Ghenea added: “I loved this character from the moment I read the script. Naomi is a fiercely confident, vibrant and highly accomplished young woman – it’s an honour to be playing such an empowering female lead role. I’ve had lots of fun completing a month of intensive diving training in preparation for the role and am super excited to start shooting alongside such a talented team.”

London and Rome based Brilliant Pictures is handling worldwide sales rights for Deep Fear.

About Brilliant Pictures

Brilliant Pictures  encompasses production, finance, worldwide sales and distribution for film and TV. With offices in London and Rome, Brilliant has a library of over 100 completed feature films and several TV series. Brilliant Pictures is the joint-venture of film industry mogul Sean O’Kelly and veteran sales agent Marc Bikindou. As a one-stop-shop for producers, offering support from the financing stage right through to delivery, Brilliant brings together the world’s most visionary filmmakers, ensuring content is packaged with the most in-demand talent whilst keeping within budgets – de-risking projects for distributors and SVOD providers and returning profitable sales revenues.

Source:  Rave PR