Amanda Plummer of “Pulp Fiction” and “Star Trek: Picard” fame and veteran thesps James Russo and Ulrich Thompson (“The Celebration”) have joined Uwe Bolls’s forthcoming migrant crisis thriller “Run.”
Set to start shooting in Croatia on April 17, the film focuses on a group of desperate migrants as they reach the Italian coast after a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea and the impact of their arrival on locals and tourists.
The film boasts a large ensemble cast that also includes Marcus Henderson (“Get Out”), BAFTA-winning actor Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Philipps”) and Costas Mandylor (the “Saw” franchise).
“Run” follows the individual storylines of migrants as they seek to avoid police as well as those of locals and tourists who get caught up in the events through the course of a day, culminating in a violent escalation.
The film’s previously announced cast members include Kristen Renton and Daniel Sauli (“The Deuce”), who worked with Boll on his most recent film, the New York City crime actioner “First Shift,” as well as Sammy Sheik and Mohammed Qissi.
Explaining his motivation to tackle the weighty subject and tell this story, Boll told PvNew: “I’m a very politically interested person, as my films ‘Stoic,’ ‘Rampage,’ ‘Darfur,’ ‘Heart of America,’ ‘Assault on Wall Street’ or ‘Auschwitz’ show.
“The boat migration through smugglers from Africa into Europe is escalating year by year more and has turned into a lose-lose situation for the population and the migrants.
“The communities who have to take care of the migrants are feeling left alone by politicians and cannot handle the situation anymore. My film shows one day in an Italian coastal town where a violent drama unfolds. So we present a microcosmos showing that the situation will get out of control and possibly very violent.”
Praising his cast, Boll added that the high-profile thesps were the ideal picks for his challenging film.
“For every film I create a cast wish list of possible actors and Amanda, James and Ulrich had the advantage that they were all on the list and that they are represented by the same agent, Michael Greene. From Daniel Sauli, Kristen Renton, Marcus Hendersen – all actors in the film fit perfectly and I hope with this great cast we have a chance to get into the Venice or Toronto Film Festivals in fall.”
Boll wrote, directed and produced “Run,” with Michael Roesch executive producing and handling world sales via his Stuttgart-based Kinostar.
Also joining the production are past Boll collaborators Mathias Neumann (“First Shift”) as DP, Boris Velican (“BloodRayne: The Third Reich”) serving as line producer and editor Ethan Maniquis (“First Shift”).
Post production for the pic will be handled at Tunnel Post in Santa Monica.
Before heading off to Croatia for the start of principle photography on “Run,” Boll will attend the April 10 German premiere of “First Shift” at the Karlsruhe Independent Days International Film Festival, where he’ll also be taking part in a special Q&A.
