The character-driven romantic drama Arthur & Clara, the feature debut of screenwriter and director Kieran Bourne’s (Poles, I Am Pilate), is set to receive its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival, which runs Oct. 29-Nov. 5.

The independent film, which also marks the first foray into feature filmmaking by production company Candid Broads Productions (The Date, Swim Sistas), stars Mirren Mack (28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Hedda) and CJ Beckford (A Thousand Blows, Blitz). Beckford plays a filmmaker, while Mack portrays an actress who both run away to the same farmhouse hoping to find themselves. Instead, they discover that they only needed one person to truly see them.

“Set in the quiet isolation of the British countryside, Arthur & Clara is an intimate exploration of identity and genuine connection,” Candid Broads says.

“Arthur & Clara is a story of genuine human connection in an increasingly isolated world, and at a time where most interactions with strangers are no longer in person, it felt important for me to tell it,” explained Bourne. “Whilst centred on a bond between two people, it has the ultimate mission of showing the connection we should have with ourselves. It’s a story I hope audiences will resonate with for years to come.”

Producer and Candid Broads founder Oriane Pick shared: “From the moment we read the script, we knew it spoke directly to the kind of stories we want to champion at Candid Broads. Having followed Kieran’s journey from short form to now, we’re thrilled to support his first feature and bring this poetic, emotionally resonant film to life.” Anais Ferrato serves as co-producer for Candid Broads.

Ilias Harcha serves as executive producer alongside Hollis Hill, Rodney Baty and Ken Moreno for H3 ENT Company, and Maria Ishak for Mischief International. Tamás Apor Méder (Aman, Praeis, The Bull) is the director of photography on the film, on which Lucy Amos (One Life, Bad Sisters, Say Nothing) handled casting. The film was shot on location in Kent earlier this year.

THR can now exclusively premiere first-look images from Arthur & Clara, featuring Beckford and Mack. Check out the images throughout this post.

The weekend’s box office saw a strong sophomore frame for NAZA, the self-distributed documentary examining Israel‘s military operations in Gaza.

Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who were both credited as directors on 2024’s Oscar-winning No Other Land, helmed the new film that expanded to 85 North American locations in 30 cities after debuting the week prior at the IFC Center in New York City. NAZA looks to gross $378,250 domestically for the four-day weekend, averaging $4,450 per screen. This pushes it past the $500,000 mark, as its domestic sum is expected to reach $504,074 by Monday.

NAZA premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where it won the special jury prize after receiving a record-setting ovation that surpassed 20 minutes. NAZA is being released independently in the U.S. with the support of The Guardian and MK2, and the movie is set to add more theaters in the weeks to come.

It holds a sterling 100 percent critics approval on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer deemed NAZA a “sober and thoroughly documented bombshell of an exposé.”

As the movie expanded over the weekend, the Israeli-American Council organized a protest on Friday outside of the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood, where the documentary was screening. IAC chief operating officer Aya Shechter explained in a statement, “Our message is clear: Wherever lies are told about Israel, we will show up with the truth.” The group also organized protesters during NAZA’s premiere at the New York Film Festival in September.

Earlier this month, the Israeli Defense Force criticized the film as “a distorted, misleading and disingenuous picture of the IDF’s target planning and striking process.”