A new Oxford-set psychological thriller is on the way that does something only one movie has previously achieved.
Breakwater comes from director and writer Max Morgan in his feature debut, and centres on the romance between a student and a retired angler.
However, the project is unique in being the second-ever feature film from Oxford University following 1982's Privileged, which starred Paddington 2's Hugh Grant and Father Brown's Mark Williams in their first credited screen roles.
Breakwater is "set between the sandstone colleges of Oxford and the salt-encrusted Suffolk coast" and "deals economically with big themes of bisexuality, grief, atonement, and faith" (via Raindance Film Festival).
It follows Otto, the son of an alcoholic single mother who allowed his 13-year-old sister to be abducted in Northern Ireland in a state of drunken absent-mindedness four years prior to the events of the movie.
Related: Best streaming services
What to Read Next
He is now a committed Catholic and teetotal, with ideas of joining the priesthood. Otto is also in a relationship with Lucy, a resident of the Suffolk town of Aldeburgh – though issues arise in their romance amid his unwillingness or inability to be physically intimate with her.
Otto then crosses paths with strapping fisherman and ex-navy man John, who is 30 years his senior, as they embark on a slow courtship. However, suspicion arises around John, with questions about what happened to his wife and whether Otto will find out.
"Their lives fuse irreversibly over the shared trauma of losing a loved one," the synopsis adds. "However, their relationship darkens when the past exhumes itself in the form of guilt, grief, and ghosts."
Breakwater features newcomers Daniel McNamee and Agnes Halladay as Otto and Lucy, alongside Salvable's Shaun Paul McGrath as John and Heartstopper's William Gao as Matt.
Related: Kit Connor and Will Poulter reunite for "atmospheric and terrifying" horror movie Rapture
It includes a score by Bella Simpson and Alessandro MacKinnon-Botti and cinematography by Grantchester's Evan Bridges, with filming taking place around spring 2023.
The film is due to have its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in central London on Monday, 23 June.
The festival showcases independent film, with the 2025 edition also including the world premiere of British thriller Row, which stars Outlander's Sophie Skelton.
Related: Heartstopper boss teases "beautiful and emotional send-off" for Nick and Charlie in new movie
The movie from director Matthew Losasso focuses on a woman who washes ashore in a shipwreck, and must piece together her memories of what happened after her friends and crewmates are missing or presumed dead.
Also set to debut are Paul Spurrier's Dream!, a Christmas-set musical about a girl who flees her mountain home that is touted as "one of the biggest independent films ever made in Thailand", and Paul Antar's Srishti, about a photographer who travels to the Himalayan Sector K to investigate a strange phenomenon; both movies will debut In Competition.
Alongside Breakwater and Row, other British movies that will have their world premieres outside the competition include Dali, Emma: One Last Dance, In Symbiosis, The Rendlesham UFO: The British Roswell, The Two of Us and This Is Your Captain Speaking.
Breakwater is due to premiere at the Raindance Film Festival on 23 June. A wider UK cinema release date is yet to be confirmed.
Digital Spy's first print magazine is here! Buy British Comedy Legends in newsagents or online, now priced at just £3.99.
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
