EXCLUSIVE: Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction) is set to star in Northern Lights, an indie coming-of-age drama that will shoot in Manitoba, Canada later this month.
Set against a stark winter landscape, Northern Lights follows a 17-year-old snowmobile rider on the brink of going professional who is driven by a quiet desire to escape her small-town life. When she discovers she is pregnant, her carefully imagined future is thrown into uncertainty, forcing her to confront the tension between motherhood and ambition.
Hailing from Cold Iron Pictures (Swiss Army Man, The Diary of a Teenage Girl), Victory Man Productions (Humane, United We Fan), and Memory Pill Films (Daughter of the Sun), the film will also star Laura Provenzano (Relative Danger) and Ryan David Younes (Nobody 2), with an appearance by five-time professional women’s snocross champion, Malene Cottew. Mackenzie Leigh is directing in her feature debut.
“I’ve admired Rosanna’s work for years, and collaborating with her on this film has been exactly the kind of creative partnership I was hoping to find,” Leigh told us. “Her performance brings a lived-in sense of the character’s grief and contradictions, and she’s surrounded by a brilliant cast that brings the same depth and commitment to every scene.”
Northern Lights will be produced by Ryan Ward and Memory Pill Films, with production financing from Telefilm Canada and Manitoba Film & Music. EPs include Miranda Bailey, Natalie Whalen, and Julia Stier of Cold Iron Pictures, Michael Sparaga of Victory Man Productions, and Ross Mollberg. Jessica Lacy at Gersh is repping North American right to the film.
Ward called Northern Lights “the kind of original, director-driven storytelling Memory Pill was founded to create,” adding, “Having Rosanna join the film, alongside our talented creative team reflects a shared belief in Mackenzie’s vision as a director and the unique world she’s bringing to the screen.”
An Emmy and Golden Globe nominee best known for roles in films like Pulp Fiction and After Hours, Arquett will next be seen starring alongside Charli xcx in her A24 film The Moment, releasing January 30 after premiering at Sundance. Also upcoming for the actress is the horror thriller Corporate Retreat with Lilly Krug, Ashton Sanders, Simona Tabasco, Odeya Rush, Alan Ruck, and Sasha Lane. She is repped by Artium Talent and Gang, Tyre, Ramer.
Provenzano is repped by The Agency Talent Management; Younes by The Characters Talent Agency.