Vertical picks up rights to the Hilary Swank crime-thriller Mother’s Milk

Vertical has acquired North American, UK, and AUS/NZ distribution rights to director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte’s (As You Are, Dreamland) film Mother’s Milk, which he co-wrote with Madison Harrison, his writing partner on As You Are. The film is a crime thriller starring two-time Academy Award®-winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon) and Jack Reynor (Midsommar). Similar to Vertical’s past successes such as Maybe I Do, Emily The Criminal and Four Good Days, the film will be released exclusively in theatres nationwide beginning September 1st with the UK and AUS/NZ releases following shortly thereafter.

​Mother’s Milk follows journalist Marissa Bennings (Swank) who, after the murder of her estranged son, forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend Paige (Cooke) to track down those responsible for his death. Together they confront a world of corruption and drugs in the underbelly of a small city in upstate New York. As they get closer to the truth, they unearth an even darker secret.

Additional cast includes Dilone, Hopper Penn, Norm Lewis and Karen Aldridge. The film is produced by Shaun Sanghani of SSS Entertainment alongside Siena Oberman of Artemis Pictures and Emma Tillinger Koskoff of First Love Films. Swank and Joris-Peyrafitte executive produce the film along with Peter Winther, Luke Daniels; Brent Stiefel and Justin Lothrop of Votiv Films; Lizzie Friedman, Karen Lauder, and Greg Little of Priority Pictures; Peter Jarowey and Rich Goldberg of Vertical and Jeffrey Giles and Michael Lurie of the Syndicate. Charlotte Hornsby is the cinematographer. The film was financed by Sanghani’s financing arm, SSS Film Capital. His sales banner, The Syndicate, is handling worldwide sales and teamed with UTA Independent for domestic sales.

The film’s producers stated, “Vertical has had success with exclusive theatrical releases on several of their recent titles and when we heard they wanted to go down this same path with us, we were thrilled. It’s apparent we all share the same passion and confidence in this beautiful, engaging film that Miles has crafted behind our amazing actors and their top-notch performances.”

Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey commented, “This film will capture your attention from the very first moment. Hilary and Olivia’s performances are perfection, leaving your heart racing with every twist and turn. It’s a thrill to re-team with producer Shaun Sanghani and be working with Miles again who has delivered a performance driven narrative that is on the pulse of current events here in the US and around the world. We know audiences will be riveted once they are able to see it in theaters this summer.”

Jarowey and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal on behalf of Vertical; The Syndicate and UTA Independent negotiated the deal on behalf of the production.