Sweetsick: Alice Birch shares excitement about her directorial debut and working with Cate Blanchett
Searchlight Pictures has officially confirmed that two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett will headline Sweetsick, the feature directorial debut of celebrated writer Alice Birch. Known for her acclaimed work on Lady Macbeth, Normal People, and The End We Start From, Birch is stepping behind the camera for the first time with this ambitious project, which begins filming later this year in the United Kingdom and Greece.
The film is being produced by Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, and Theo Barrowclough of House Productions, alongside Blanchett through her Dirty Films banner. Lee Groombridge is also on board as producer, while Film4 will co-finance and executive produce.
At the heart of Sweetsick lies an enigmatic story. Blanchett will play a mercurial woman with a piercing and unsettling gift: the ability to see what others most intimately need. Though her power brings clarity and healing to those around her, it comes at great personal cost. The narrative follows her as she embarks on a journey home, one that forces her to reckon with the toll her rare gift has taken on her own life.
Speaking about the project, Birch expressed her excitement: “I could not be more excited to be making my debut feature as a director with such an extraordinary team of filmmakers and collaborators. I am in the safest hands with Tessa Ross and her brilliant team at House, and am so proud to be working with Searchlight and Film4. To have the peerless Cate Blanchett at the centre of it is thrilling.”
Producer Tessa Ross echoed the sentiment, praising Birch’s vision and Blanchett’s involvement: “We’re all very big believers in Alice Birch, and it’s been wonderful to see that the fantastic team she’s gathered around her, not least the amazing Cate, feel the same way – all drawn in by her bold, beautiful vision.”
With Blanchett’s magnetic presence and Birch’s lyrical storytelling, Sweetsick is already shaping up to be one of the most intriguing films of 2026. Additional casting announcements are expected soon.
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