Toronto, Canada (September 12, 2026) – Highland Film Group announced today that it has locked distribution deals in key international territories in all media to the shark survival action film White starring Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Love & Friendship, Pearl Harbor) and Katherine McNamara (Disney+’s ”Shadowhunters,” 20th Century Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure). Newly joining the cast in the lead role is Carla Woodcock (Starz’s “Outlander”). Directed by horror maven Jake West (Evil Aliens), the film is written by Dan Schaffer, the writer and illustrator of the cult comic book series, Dogwitch.
Highland Film Group has sold the rights to White in Germany to Splendid Film, Italy to Italian International Film (IIF), Benelux to Three Lines Pictures, Portugal to Cinemundo, Ex Yugoslavia to KCS, the Czech Republic / Slovakia to Foxx Media Group, Poland to Galapagos Films, Turkey to ATV, Middle East to Falcon Films, Taiwan to MovieCloud, India to Lionsgate, Latin America to California Filmes, Australia / New Zealand to Rialto Distribution and South Africa to Filmfinity.
The shark actioner is produced by Yariv Lerner (Lionsgate’s Rambo: Last Blood and Hellboy), Dominic Burns (Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot), Crawford Anderson-Dillon (Lionsgate’s 5lbs of Pressure) and Sky Morfopoulos (Aura’s Wildcat). White is executive produced by Kate Beckinsale, Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Patrick Wintersgill, Kevin Glynn, Pauric Duffy and Hannah Leader.
Highland Film Group is handling worldwide rights and co-financing the project. Production recently wrapped in Los Angeles and Bulgaria.
Willa Harba (Carla Woodcock), a struggling actress trying to catch her big break, is traveling overseas for a shoot with a self-obsessed star when their private jet crashes into the Pacific. Now the sole survivor, she’s stranded on a fractured wing with nothing but ocean around her. Her only lifeline is a satellite phone salvaged from the wreck – but when she calls for rescue, her demanding studio boss, Barbara (Kate Beckinsale), brushes her off. Instead, her signal is picked up by marine biologist Sam Swatek (Katherine McNamara), who delivers chilling news: Willa has crashed into the infamous White Shark Café, a stretch of ocean where great whites gather to feed.
Carla Woodcock’s credits include roles in Starz’s “Outlander” starring Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan, ITV’s teen drama “Tell Me Everything,” Hulu and BBC’s “Such Brave Girls” from A24 and Netflix and BBC’s mystery thriller series “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.”
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Nimród Antal’s sci-fi action thriller Bluefly starring Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas; Lisette Feliciano’s Iron Jane starring Eiza Gonzalez and Brandon Sklenar; Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; and Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley, Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley.
Woodcock is repped by Sarah Camlett at Independent Talent Group.
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ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning global studio with end-to-end capabilities, driving films from development to release. HFG operates as a producer, financier, distributor and sales agent, with an in-house team that oversees global productions and acquisitions. Launched in 2010, HFG delivers standout films across a wide range of genres and platforms, building a reputation for producing high-octane films in the action, thriller and horror space. In 2020, the studio expanded into U.S. distribution with the successful launch of The Avenue, HFG’s dedicated label managing all release windows, from theatrical through home entertainment to television, SVOD and AVOD.
HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action thriller Arcadian starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan which took the #1 spot on Hulu in the U.S. last year; Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas which claimed the #1 spot on Amazon’s streaming rankings for seven consecutive days following its theatrical release in 2023; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne, world premiere at SXSW; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; Adrian Grünberg’s action thriller Protector starring Milla Jovovich and Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland.
New projects include Nimród Antal’s sci-fi action thriller Bluefly starring Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas; Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green; Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo; Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley and the acclaimed cyber heist thriller LifeHack from producer Timur Bekmambetov, official selection at SXSW and the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Previous titles include Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum, and Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg.
PR via Maxine Leonard PR