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‘House Of The Dragon’ Star Emma D’Arcy, ‘Industry’ Actor Harry Lawtey & ‘Willow’ Star Ellie Bamber Join Movie ‘Anna’ About Murdered Russian Journalist & Putin Scourge Anna Politkovskaya

EXCLUSIVE: House Of The Dragon star Emma D’Arcy, Industry actor Harry Lawtey and Willow star Ellie Bamber have joined Maxine Peake (The Village), Oscar nominee Ciaran Hinds (Belfast) and Jason Isaacs (The Death Of Stalin) in feature thriller Anna (formerly known as Mother Russia).

As we revealed earlier this year, the film will tell the story of world-renowned journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya (Peake), who went from being a local print journalist to braving the Chechen killing fields and exposing Russian state corruption under Vladimir Putin. She refused to give up reporting on the war in Chechnya despite numerous acts of intimidation and violence, including being poisoned. She was ultimately murdered in the elevator of her block of flats and it remains unclear who paid for the contract killing.

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D’Arcy, who currently stars as the older Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, will play the role of Vera Politkovskaya, the daughter of journalist Anna. Their other credits include Mothering Sunday directed by Eva Husson, Amazon Studios’ Truth Seekers and BBC’s Wanderlust.

Lawtey, who has been cast as Anna’s son, Ilya Politkovskaya, is known for Marcella with Anna Friel and Terence Davies’ Benediction.  He can currently be seen leading his second season of hit BBC/HBO series Industry and next up stars in Netflix’s Christian Bale thriller The Pale Blue Eye as well as leading Russell T Davies’ limited series You & Me for ITVX.

Bamber, who will play the role of Anna’s intern/protégé Elena, broke out opposite Olivia Colman, David Oyelowo and Dominic West in Les Misérables and in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals. She also starred in BBC’s The Serpent. Next up she will star opposite Warwick Davis in the Disney+ TV series reboot of Willow. Upcoming projects also include Amazon’s Red White & Royal Blue and Stranger with a Camera.

Hinds will play Nobel Prize-winning newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov and Isaacs (The Death Of Stalin) will play Politkovskaya’s husband Sacha.

Pic is being produced by Miriam Segal and Paul Brennan of Good Films Collective (The Infiltrator) with Luminosity Entertainment providing financing and overseeing worldwide distribution. Principal photography begins at the end of September.

Luminosity’s upcoming feature Back On The Strip, starring Wesley Snipes and Tiffany Haddish, is due for theatrical release later this year.

Emma Darcy is represented by Roxane Vacca Management and Schreck Rose Depello Adams Berlin & Dunham. Lawtey is represented by Hamilton Hoddell and UTA. Bamber is represented by Curtis Brown Group and UTA.

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