Black Bear has launched international sales on “Wicker,” a twisted romance starring Oscar winner Olivia Colman and Oscar nominee Dev Patel. Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson will direct from a script they adapted from Ursula Wills-Jones’ short story “The Wicker Husband.”

“Wicker” will start production in 2024. Per the logline, “On the outskirts of a village by the sea, lives a Fisherwoman (Colman); smelly, single and perpetually ridiculed. One day, fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbors, she commissions herself a husband to be made from wicker (Patel). In an otherwise conservative town, this unconventional romance sparks outrage, jealousy and chaos.”

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Topic Studios and Tango will finance and produce the film with Colman, Ed Sinclair and Tom Carver from South of The River, David Michôd and Brad Zimmerman for Yoki, Inc. and Justin Lothrop and Brent Stiefel for Votiv, who originated and financed development. UTA Independent Film Group is co-repping U.S. sales with CAA Media Finance.

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Colman received an Oscar for starring in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite.” She is also known for her work in “The Lost Daughter,” “The Father” and “Tyrannosaur,” as well as television projects “Heartstopper,” “Landscapers,” “The Crown,” “Fleabag,” “The Night Manager” and “Broadchurch.” Her upcoming projects include Paul King’s “Wonka,” Thea Sharrock’s “Wicked Little Letters” and Dougal Wilson’s “Paddington in Peru.”

Patel’s breakout role was in the Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire.” He has since gone on to star in the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” films, “The Green Night,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield” and “Lion,” which he received an Oscar nomination for. He was recently in Wes Anderson’s Netflix shorts “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” and “Poison.” Patel will next be seen starring in his directorial debut “Monkey Man,” which he also co-wrote and produced.

Fischer and Wilson’s previous feature “Save Yourselves!,” which they co-wrote and co-directed, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 Sundance Festival. This past year, Black Bear has launched a variety of titles to the international market place, including “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and “The Monkey.”

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