movies
‘Great 8’ 2026: Ray Panthaki’s Debut ‘In Starland’ Among Titles
The BFI has revealed the lineup of titles it will take to the upcoming Cannes Market as part of its Great 8 initiative for first and second-time filmmakers.
The list of titles includes In Starland, the debut feature directed by veteran British actor Ray Panthaki, and Daughter of Eden from Iranian-British filmmaker Fateme Ahmadi. The BFI will present the features to international buyers in Cannes. See the full list of titles below.
- Ancestors, director/writer David Turpin
- Black Church Bay, director/writer Rhys Marc Jones
- Daughter of Eden, director/writer Fateme Ahmadi
- FLORID, director/writer Billy Lumby
- In Starland, director Ray Panthaki, writers Ray Panthaki, Jason Kavan
- Masc, director Bertil Nilsson, writers Bertil Nilsson, Joshua Griffin
- Our Share of Sand, director/writer Shalini Adnani
- Salvation, director/writer Tom Nicoll
Now in its ninth year, the 2026 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council. As part of the scheme, unseen footage from all the titles will be introduced by the filmmakers and screened online for buyers and festival programmers from Friday, 8 May.
Great 8-selected films and filmmakers who have gone on to find international critical acclaim and commercial success include Charlotte Wells’s Aftersun, which became MUBI’s highest-earning release in the UK. Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not A Witch, Rose Glass’s Saint Maud, and Charlotte Regan’s Scrapper.
See the 2026 Great 8 line-up with full credits and plot lines below.
ANCESTORS
Ireland, UK
Drama
Director/writer: David Turpin
Producers: Miranda Ballesteros, David Collins, Eamon Hughes
Cast: Éanna Hardwicke, Jessica Reynolds, Jack Wolfe, Rupert Everett, Christina Hendricks
Production: Screen Ireland, Yellow Moon, Northern Ireland Screen, Samson Films, Lunatica
Sales: Mister Smith
Synopsis: A love story, a noir mystery and a metaphysical fable, Ancestors follows Beau (Éanna Hardwicke) as he searches 1980s London for his missing friend, Tiny (Jack Wolfe). Dream, reality, memory and history entwine, forcing Beau to come face-to-face with truths beyond life and death.
David Turpin is an Irish-born filmmaker who began his career as a musician and performance artist. His first work for cinema was the screenplay for the supernatural mystery The Lodgers, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, and was subsequently acquired by Nexflix in a worldwide five-year deal. His second feature as screenwriter, the contemporary drama The Winter Lake, premiered in 2021. David’s work has been supported by Screen Ireland and Creative Europe MEDIA fund, and he currently has material in development with Screen Ireland, BBC Northern Ireland, Film4, Tailored Films, Keeper Pictures and others. All David’s work is characterised by his interest in symbolism, lyricism, and how the interweaving of real and imagined planes of being can express the experiences of the othered.
Ancestors is David’s first feature as writer-director.
BLACK CHURCH BAY
UK
Mystery Drama
Director/writer: Rhys Marc Jones
Producers: Tristan Goligher, Alex Polunin
Cast: Tom Cullen, Joe Locke, Marli Siu, Rakie Ayola, Dylan Michael (Miles)
Production: BBC Film, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Ossian International, The Bureau
Sales: The Bureau
Synopsis: Black Church Bay is a mystery-drama about a conflicted young teacher (Tom Cullen) dealing with the consequences of a high school student (Joe Locke) disappearing. It follows the immediate aftermath of the event, exploring the lengths a person might go to hide their true self – to save their skin at the expense of their soul.
Rhys Marc Jones is a Welsh-Irish filmmaker who studied at NYU Tisch as a three-time BAFTA Scholarship recipient. His screenplay for Black Church Bay won the Black Family Feature Prize, the highest accolade bestowed by the faculty at NYU – and his shorts, including Ripples, Father Of The Bride and Pale Saint have played festivals worldwide, receiving three BAFTA Cymru nominations. An alumni of Cannes Cinéfondation and Torino Film Lab, Rhys also received BFI Flare x BAFTA Mentorship from Wash Westmoreland and is a Berlinale Talent.
DAUGHTER OF EDEN
UK/Ireland
Psychological Thriller
Director/writer: Fateme Ahmadi
Producers: Jack Tarling, Pietro Greppi
Cast: Yasmin Al-Khudhairi, Hiam Abbass, Amir El-Masry, Lindsay Duncan
Production: BFI, BBC Film, Fís Éireann/ Screen Ireland, Civic Studios, Three Point Capital, Lunapark Pictures, Shudder Films, Newgrange Pictures
Sales: Lucky Number
Synopsis: London, 2006. In the months leading up to Saddam Hussein’s execution, Nessa, a British Iraqi nurse, encounters an older woman, Maryam, at the hospital and suspects that she is the government informant responsible for her parents’ execution in Iraq years earlier. Nessa infiltrates Maryam’s life as her nurse, aiming to find the truth. To her surprise, Maryam begins to develop a closer bond with her – but Nessa cannot let go of the obsession. Nessa’s search for truth turns into something darker when she finally feels certain that she has the right person; consumed by rage, she begins to punish Maryam, while neglecting her own health, family and career. As the lines between truth and projection blur, Nessa is forced to confront the consequences of what her pain has set in motion.
Fateme Ahmadi is an Iranian writer and director based in London. Her short films have screened internationally and won numerous awards including Bitter Sea, nominated for Best British Short at the British Independent Film Awards, and Leila’s Blues, which premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight as part of the Tunisia Factory initiative.
She is a fellow of the inaugural Pillars Artist Fellowship supported by Netflix and Amazon Studios, and an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Edinburgh Talent Lab, and Film London Lodestar. Her work also includes Chandra, developed at the 2015 Asian Film Academy Colour of Asia programme at Busan International Film Festival. She studied Persian Literature, Cinema, and Linguistics in Tehran before graduating from the London Film School in 2013. Her debut feature Daughter Of Eden is a psychological thriller in post-production backed by the BFI, BBC Film and Screen Ireland.
FLORID
UK
Drama
Director/writer: Billy Lumby
Producers: Rupert Lloyd, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Cast: Jonathan Jules, Saskia Chana, Unknown T
Production: BBC Film, Film i Väst, Academy Films, Head Gear, An Atar Studios, Joi Productions Filmgate (SE), Metrol Technology, Trigger Films, Red Union Films
Sales: Atar Studios
Synopsis: Set in the world of London’s supported accommodation and psychiatric wards, FLORID tells the story of Jamal, a young man who hears voices. Struggling to balance his medication with his musical and romantic desires, Jamal’s equilibrium is rocked when Kyla moves in next door. Told from an authentic first-person experience, FLORID has been made with the community it is based in. It is an emotive and immersive story that seeks to bring the audience into an unseen world.
Billy Lumby is a BAFTA-nominated writer/director. Born and raised in London, his first short film God View was screened at top festivals around the world including Clermont-Ferrand, and was broadcast internationally by television networks such as Canal+. His second short Samuel-613 was commissioned by Dazed & Confused magazine and was nominated for a BAFTA. Billy has attended talent labs at Berlinale and the BFI London Film Festival. He is a Screen International “Star of Tomorrow”.
IN STARLAND
UK
Drama
Director: Ray Panthaki
Writers: Ray Panthaki, Jason Kavan
Producers: Daniel Khalili, Ray Panthaki, Daisy Allsop, Victor Paul Wajnberg
Cast: Clarence Maclin, Bella Maclean, Miss Benny, Marcus Scribner, Ben Dickey
Production: Le Bateau Lavoir, Archface Films, Killer Films
Sales: Le Bateau Lavoir
Synopsis: In small-town America, Ernie – a 50-year-old loner with a mysterious past – lives a quiet, solitary life. After a chance encounter with a group of influencers in their twenties who are passing through town, Ernie invites them into his home – a decision that unsettles the fragile world he’s spent years trying to exist within.
They move fast, live online, turning everything into something to be seen. Finally finding a place he can fit in, Ernie is drawn into a digital world of hedonism, self-exploration and belonging – but the connection he’s been searching for begins to come at a cost.
As the line between private life and performance starts to blur, and the town grows more watchful, a carefully held secret begins to surface…
A coming-of-middle-age story about what we inherit, the patterns we carry, and the choices they leave us with.
Starring Academy Award and BAFTA nominee Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing) in his first leading role
Ray Panthaki is a British actor, writer and filmmaker. A BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and BIFA-nominated actor, he has collaborated with directors including Danny Boyle, Bong Joon Ho and Ed Zwick.
As an actor, he appeared in Boiling Point, earning a BIFA nomination for Best Supporting Actor as part of an ensemble recognised with eleven BIFA and four BAFTA nominations.
His filmmaking is rooted in naturalism, exploring identity through behaviour and observation.
His short films Life Sentence and Ernie developed this approach. In Starland is his feature directorial debut.
MASC
UK
Drama
Director: Bertil Nilsson
Writers: Bertil Nilsson, Joshua Griffin
Producers: Bertil Nilsson, EP Joanne Michael
Cast: Joshua Griffin, Tega Alexander, Ed White, Reece King
Production: Duktiga
Sales: Duktiga
Synopsis: Robin is a young man caught between multiple identities – autistic, biracial, queer – and different ideas of masculinity. This leads us on an intimate, and at times funny, journey of self discovery and missteps told in five chapters over the course of a critical year in Robin’s life. He tries on different roles, failing from job to job while transforming his appearance and mannerisms to fit in. But will revealing what he’s most desperate to hide finally open the door to belonging?
Bertil Nilsson is a British/Swedish filmmaker and artist based in London. Masc is his debut feature. His first fiction short, Repair, premiered in competition at Clermont-Ferrand in 2023, was selected at BFI Flare and Outfest LA, and acquired by Disney+ and Canal+. It previously won Best Script in the UK parliament’s film competition. He has collaborated extensively with dancers and acrobats, including his series of portrait films Figures, which featured on Vimeo Staff Picks and NOWNESS, and two photography books.
OUR SHARE OF SAND
UK
Drama
Director/writer: Shalini Adnani
Producers: Sara Bonakdar, Alan McAlex, Balthazar de Ganay, Giorgos Karnavas, Michael Graf
Cast: Ellora Torchia, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Maya Mehta, Jyoti Dogra, Krish More, Ravi Ranjan
Production: BFI, Film4, Fifth Mirror Pictures, Heretic, Suitable Pictures
Sales: Global Constellation
Synopsis: After years apart, 12-year-old Maya returns to India with her mother to reunite with her father – a sandmining business man. Immersed in a world where labour, legacy and extraction collide, she forms a fragile bond with Kiran, a young worker. When a tragic accident leaves him permanently injured, a police investigation turns Maya into a key witness, with her father relying on her account to absolve him. Torn between loyalty and a growing unease she cannot name, Maya begins searching for the truth herself. As her mother quietly unravels within a stifling marriage, Maya uncovers a pattern of silence, exploitation and repeated harm-forcing her to confront her father’s deception and the family’s inherited complicity she must choose to break.
Shalini Adnani is a Chilean-born, Indian-origin writer and director based in London. Her short film White Ant premiered at Sundance, was long listed for a BIFA, won Best UK short at Raindance 2023 and was acquired by Canal+. Her BFI and Film4 funded India-set feature debut Our Share of Sand is currently in post-production. She is a London Film School and Berlinale talents alumni and was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2025.
SALVATION
UK
Psychological Thriller
Director/writer: Tom Nicoll
Producers: Dom Riley, Tom Nicoll, Scott Trotter
Cast: Liam Harkins, Stephen McMillan, Kathleen McDermott, Conor McCarron
Production: Creative Scotland, Lane Films
Sales: Lane Films
Synopsis: A tenacious aspiring guru must go to extreme measures to pay off the debts he’s accrued from trying, and failing, to set up an online life-coaching business in a post-industrial Scottish town.
Exploring the world of male influencer culture and how it might be affecting the young men who come into its orbit, Salvation blends mounting tension, dark comedy and a forensic focus on its protagonist to explore the very modern story of a delusional life coach spiralling out of control.
Tom Nicoll is an award-winning Scottish director, whose work has screened at festivals worldwide, received Vimeo Staff Picks, and been shown on online film channels including Short of the Week. He has had a short film funded through Creative Scotland’s SFTN Emerging Talent Scheme which screened on the BBC and received funded development for a feature film with Screen Scotland. Tom is a member of the European Film Academy, BAFTA Connect and Directors UK.
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EXCLUSIVE: Diablo Cody has lined up familiar faces as partners for her next film project, Always, Roxanne: The film will be produced by Nathan Kahane via his True North banner, as well as Mason Novick, Deadline has learned.
Cody’s script follows Roxanne, an obsessive high school senior who goes to her ex-boyfriend’s college campus to win him back, only to wage war on his new girlfriend and accidentally find the first person who truly understands her.
The film, which does not yet have a director, extends a longstanding creative partnership between Cody and Novick, who have now worked together on over 10 projects: Novick was Oscar-nominated for producing Cody’s Best Picture nominee Juno and is currently working with her on a sequel to her cult classic Jennifer’s Body.
Kahane worked with Cody & Novick on the films Juno and Young Adult during his time at Mandate Pictures. He told us, “I couldn’t imagine a better time to reunite with my former collaborators Diabo Cody and Mason Novick than a moment when younger audiences are rediscovering the joy of the theatrical experience.”
Best known for breakout with Juno, the coming-of-age romance that brought her the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Cody’s filmography also includes titles like Tully, Ricki and the Flash, Lisa Frankenstein and more, in addition to those previously mentioned. She is represented by WME and MXN Entertainment.
While at his previous companies Mandate and Good Universe, Kahane shepherded the Neighbors and Harold and Kumar comedy franchises, as well as films sfuch as This Is the End, Don’t Breathe, Good Boys and Stranger Than Fiction. Prior to launching True North, he was President of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate.
Other credits for Novick include (500) Days of Summer and the recent Forbidden Fruits.
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“Thing happen, they change the course of a man’s life,” says Sylvester Stallone‘s Dwight at the opening of the Season 4 trailer for Tulsa King. “If I find out whose fault this is, bad things are gonna happen to bad people,” warns the beaten-down Dwight.
Per the Season 4 logline, Dwight (Stallone) fights to legitimize his empire and protect his crew as corrupt politicians, dangerous new enemies, and a crushing personal loss hit from every direction. However, every hard-won gain comes with even harder truths: about loyalty, leadership and the cost of ambition. Each move drags Dwight deeper into the street instincts he left behind in New York – turning Tulsa into a battleground and Dwight into the one threat no one can afford to underestimate.
“Everything I own is gone,” Dwight laments a bit later in the trailer. “I’m not ready to fold.” he confidently asserts. “I’m gonna get it all back.”
We also see a bit more of new cast member Gretchen Mol in the trailer. Mol plays Amanda Clark, a Tulsa politician. When asked by a reporter, “Has the mob come to Oklahoma?” she replies sternly, “It may have come, but it sure as hell ain’t staying’.”
Terence Winter is head writer and executive producer. Sheridan and Stallone executive produce, along with David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Thomas Kelly, and Keith Cox.
The series, which premieres Friday, October 16 on Paramount+, is produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Check out the trailer above and see first-look photos here.
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Upon accepting his career achievement award at an intimate Zurich Film Festival ceremony, beloved U.S. auteur Richard Linklater was swiftly asked for an update on his musical film, Merrily We Roll Along.
Based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1981 show, Linklater’s movie is set to shoot over a 20-year period, similar to his Oscar-nominated Boyhood, with stars Paul Mescal, Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein aging in real time.
Before a screening of his iconic Before Sunrise, Linklater sat for a 45-minute discussion with Zurich Film Festival CEO Christian Jungen to reflect on his entire career, from his early interest in cinema to making Dazed and Confused with Matthew McConaughey and later, School of Rock with Jack Black.
Toward the end of the conversation, an audience member asked for a status update on Merrily We Roll Along, to which the American filmmaker responded that it’s proving a little trickier to be discreet compared to 2014’s Boyhood (shot over 12 years). “When I was doing Boyhood, we worked in complete anonymity. No one knew about the film. This one, on the other hand, because it’s a Stephen Sondheim musical and it’s very public, I have to answer this question for 20 years while we’re making it,” he laughed.
“But my progress report,” continued Linklater, “is it’s [shooting] nine sections in 20 years. And in a few months, we’re filming the fourth section. So see you in 2040,” he added, the room applauding.
Linklater also dismissed concerns about “tempting fate” with such a long shoot. “It worked on Boyhood, […] and that’s just the way the film should be made and that’s the only way to tell the story. And people were like, ‘Well, what if someone died?’ There’s always an extreme thing that would prevent it from being made. But I was like, ‘Well, that usually doesn’t happen,’ and you gotta believe in collaborating with the future of some kind. So definitely got lucky [with Boyhood] and hoping to get lucky this time. But it’s been so fun so far. It’s very different. I have music already — it’s a great score. We’re adapting it step-by-step. I’ve always made music films. … But it’s fun to be making a full-on musical. But it’s about friendship, long-term.”
Merrily We Roll Along is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, follows Franklin Shepard, a talented composer of Broadway musicals that abandons his friends and career to become a producer of Hollywood movies. The story begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing important moments in Frank’s life.
Naturally, Linklater was probed on how he came to cast Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in the cult Before trilogy, and regaled the audience with anecdotes about making the Vienna-set romance. When Jungen cited an interview with Delpy where she said she’d been “only made a third” of what Hawke was paid, Linklater responded: “That’s not true. I actually remember fighting for it because I knew how hard the actors were going to have to work. And I did have some producers saying, ‘Oh, Julie has no American credits. We don’t have to pay her that much. We can get her for scale. ‘ And I was like, ‘Let’s get them closer.’ It was definitely the most she’s ever made, but it was a little less than he did. But not [by] much.”
Upon receiving his career achievement award, Linklater, director of Hit Man, Nouvelle Vague and, more recently, Blue Moon, told the crowd: “I feel so lucky to be in this world, to work with people in the film culture — not just filmmakers, but the film culture that we all live in too. Film festivals, curators, teachers of film, just film lovers everywhere, film societies,” he said, alluding to his launching of the Austin Film Society in 1985.
He continued: “I’ve been so lucky all these years now to awaken every day in that world where it’s optimistic, because film is optimistic. It’s people who want the best, who want to see something great, who want to make something great, and we try to help each other in that. And it’s the best people, too.”
The evening was celebratory from the moment Linklater walked in to his picking up Zurich’s Golden Eye Award. He joins 2026 honorees Julianne Moore, John Turturro and Naomi Watts. The 22nd edition runs Sept. 24-Oct. 4.
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