Ella Balinska, who played one of Charlie’s Angels in the most recent film made about that group, has a couple genre credits to her name, most genre fans just haven’t seen them yet. She stars in the Blumhouse production Run Sweetheart Run, which was supposed to get a 2020 theatrical release but was delayed by the pandemic and sold to Amazon Prime – and still isn’t available to watch there. She also has a role in Netflix’s upcoming Resident Evil series. So while we continue to wait for Run Sweetheart Run and Netflix’s Resident Evil, Balinska has signed on to star in another genre project, the sci-fi thriller The Occupant.
Directed by Hugo Keijzer, who also wrote the script with Philip M. Howe and Roelof-Jan Minneboo, The Occupant will find Balinska in the role of Abby, who
during a desperate quest for her dying sister’s survival, finds herself stranded and alone in the icy Russian wilderness where a mysterious helper may or not be her salvation.
Maurice Schutte, Elwin Looije, and Revolver Amsterdam (Love and Friendship)’s Raymond van der Kaaij are producing the film, which is a feature expansion of a short Keijzer made in 2019. The Occupant received a grant from Epic Games to potentially use Unreal Engine, a virtual production technology that has been used on The Mandalorian. Funding has been provided by the Dutch Film Fund. Altitude is executive producing.
Keijzer said his film will be
both a visceral survival story and a gripping journey into the unknown, which will be an immense challenge both physically and mentally for our lead actress. I’m thrilled to be working with Ella on this. She embraces the unique challenges that come with this project and she’s not afraid to reveal her most vulnerable side. I believe she has all the makings of a superstar.”
The Occupant is expected to go into production in early 2022, with filming to take place in Georgia and Ireland.
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