Seven years after Honey Boy, Alma Har’el is returning to narrative feature filmmaking with Wet, a family drama heading to the Toronto International Film Festival market. The project is already attracting attention with an impressive potential cast that includes Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie and Marty Supreme star Odessa A’zion, all of whom are in early discussions to join the film.
Plot details for Wet are being kept tightly under wraps. What is confirmed is that the screenplay is an original script co-written by Har’el and Christian Stangeby, based on Stangeby’s spec script. Those who have read the screenplay have described it as being in the vein of HBO’s Succession and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness, two films that explore family dysfunction, concentrated wealth, power dynamics and sharp social satire.
The potential casting package currently attached to Wet is particularly notable. Academy Award-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who was first reported to be in talks for the project by Page Six last month, remains in early discussions. Rebecca Ferguson, whose recent credits include the Mission: Impossible and Dune franchises, is also in very early talks.
Connor Storrie, who broke out with the sports drama Heated Rivalry and has become one of the year’s most talked-about young actors, is also circling the project. Odessa A’zion, who recently appeared in Marty Supreme, rounds out the current casting conversations. However, no deals have been finalised, and the cast could change considerably before production begins.
Bardem’s potential involvement comes at an interesting point in his career. The actor recently received strong reviews for his performance in the Spanish film The Beloved, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year. US distributor Kino Lorber is reportedly aiming to mount an Oscar campaign for what could become Bardem’s fifth Academy Award nomination.
The project is being taken to the TIFF market by Patrick Wachsberger’s production and sales company 193, with Fifth Season financing the film. Wachsberger is one of the international film industry’s experienced sales figures, while 193 will handle international sales directly. Wet will be presented at TIFF: The Market, which runs from September 10 to 16.
Har’el made her narrative feature debut with Honey Boy in 2019. Written by and starring Shia LaBeouf, the deeply personal drama drew from LaBeouf’s experiences with his father and received widespread critical acclaim. Har’el won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, Feature Film, becoming the first woman of colour and the first Israeli-born director to receive the honour.
Since then, Har’el has continued working across film and television. She directed the Bob Dylan concert documentary Shadow Kingdom in 2021 and helmed seven episodes of Apple TV+’s Lady in the Lake in 2024. Earlier this year, she also signed a multi-year television deal with Amazon Studios.
Wet therefore marks Har’el’s long-awaited return to the big screen as a narrative feature filmmaker. Production is currently hoped to begin in Spain early next year, potentially positioning the film for a festival run in late 2027. However, no production start date or release timeline has been confirmed.
For now, the project’s immediate destination is Toronto, where Wet will be presented to buyers at TIFF this September. With its high-profile early casting discussions and Har’el returning to narrative features for the first time since Honey Boy, the project is likely to be one of the titles attracting attention at the market.
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