Kate Beckinsale, Scott Eastwood and James Cromwell will star in kidnapping drama “Stolen Girl” directed by Britain’s James Kent (“Testament of Youth,” “The Aftermath”).
“Stolen Girl,” which is in pre-production in Southern Italy’s Apulia region, is inspired by the real story of an American woman named Maureen Dabbagh who spent years tracking down her daughter who had been abducted and taken to the Middle East by the child’s father.
In the film, which starts out in 1993 in Ohio, Maureen’s 6-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted kids who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration. Maureen eventually succeeds in tracking down her ex-husband and Amina in Beirut, where she will face “the most difficult decision of her life,” according to a provided synopsis.
Italy’s ILBE, the expanding company whose production credits include Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” is serving as executive producer on the roughly €25 million ($26 million) thriller lead-produced by Voltage Pictures. The screenplay is written by Rebecca Pollock and Kas Graham.
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ILBE’s Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi are the producers on “Stolen Girl,” along with Frida Torresblanco, Scott Lambert and Luca Matrundola, according to an ILBE statement.
The bulk of “Stolen Girl,” which is expected to start principal photography soon, will be shot in Italy.
“I’m thrilled to be shooting once again in Apulia, a versatile land that I love and that always manages to cater to our needs,” Iervolino in a statement. ILBE previously shot Amber Heard horror movie “In the Fire” in the region.