Roadside Attractions and Vertical have nabbed North American rights to the futuristic fable The Pod Generation, starring 4x Emmy nominee Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), which opened this year’s Sundance Film Festival and claimed its Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. It’s slated for release exclusively in theaters this summer.

The third feature written and directed by Barthes (Cold Souls) is set in the very near-future world where AI is all the rage and technology has trumped nature in nearly every aspect of life. Its protagonists are Rachel (Clarke) and Alvy (Ejiofor), a New York couple who are ready to start a family. As a rising tech company executive, Rachel lands a coveted spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples the opportunity to share pregnancy on a more equal footing by way of mobile, artificial wombs, or pods. Alvy, a botanist and devoted purist about the natural environment, has doubts, but his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith. And so, begins the wild ride on their tech-paved path to parenthood.

The sixth title on which Roadside Attractions and Vertical have paired, on the heels of Emily the Criminal, Benediction, The Forgiven, The Desperate Hour and Alice, The Pod Generation also stars Rosalie Craig (Netflix’s 1899), Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point) and Jean-Marc Barr (Big Sur). Pic is produced by Geneviève Lemal, Yann Zenou, Nadia Kamlichi and Martin Metz. Executive producers are Clarke, Barthes, David Bensadoun, Paul Nelson, Adrian Politowski, Nessa McGill, Sierra Garcia, Nathanaël Karmitz and Beniamin Mincu. MK2 Films is handling international sales.

“Sophie Barthes has an extraordinary ability to create films that use alternate realities to hold a mirror to the way we live now and where we may be in the not-to-distant future,” remarked Roadside Attractions’ Co-Presidents, Howard Cohen & Eric d’Arbeloff. “Emilia and Chiwetel deliver incredible performances balancing humor and heart portraying a couple at odds with the path the Big Tech Overlords have set for them.”

Commented Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey, “AI is still the great unknown but as it weaves into our daily lives more rapidly, Sophie’s story could become a reality sooner than we think. And that’s what makes the film so captivating. Audiences will love it and be talking about it long after they leave the theater.”
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“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke and Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”) are set to headline “The Pod Generation,” a sci-fi romantic comedy that will be directed by Sophie Barthes. MK2 Films has boarded international sales, and CAA Media Finance is handling domestic rights.

Set in a near future where AI is all the rage and nature is becoming a distant memory, the story revolves around Rachel (Clarke) and Alvy (Ejiofor), a New York couple who are ready to take their relationship to the next level and start a family. Rachel’s work gives them a chance to use a new tool developed by a tech giant, Pegasus, which offers couples the opportunity to share pregnancy on a more equal footing via detachable artificial wombs, or pods. Alvy, a botanist and devoted purist, has doubts, but his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith. And so begins the wild ride to parenthood in this brave new world.

“The Pod Generation” starts shooting in March 2022. Mk2 films will share the script and sizzle reel at next week’s virtual American Film Market.

“Working with Emilia and Chiwetel as a couple on screen is a dream come true,” said Barthes. “Emilia’s versatility, her disarming sense of humor and capacity to navigate complex emotions are a perfect match to Chiwetel’s charisma and extraordinary screen presence.”

Barthes added that the “idea of the artificial womb as either doom or liberation for women is inherently comedic material.”

Fionnuala Jamison, managing director of MK2 Films, described “The Pod Generation” as a “captivating near-future story with a distinctly feminine twist that really haunts as much as it entertains.” At the same time, she said, it’s “raising ethical questions about where technology is taking us, like once the womb has been commodified, what’s next?” Continue reading  »