Lucy Barzun Donnelly joins South Of The River

Producer Lucy Barzun Donnelly (Grey Gardens, Friends with Kids) is joining Olivia Colman, Ed Sinclair and Tom Carver’s indie South of the River Pictures.

South Of The River has also promoted Lina Stroud to Director of Development.

SISTER has a minority stake in the company.

In the newly created role, Donnelly will have an open mandate across the London-based production company’s film development and production activities. Her focus will be on “nurturing new and established visionary creators from diverse backgrounds both on and off screen with a view to bringing a range of film projects in for their first look deal at Searchlight.”

Donnelly says: “I couldn’t be more delighted to join the team at South of the River Pictures in the midst of their successful run; the opportunity to collaborate with a team already telling surprising and compelling stories that also have something to say is a dream come true. South of the River has a reputation for supporting artists and taking a script-focused approach, which is a great fit with my background in independent film.”

In addition to the new hire, Lina Stroud is promoted to Director of Development, Film & TV. Stroud, who has been with the company since its founding, will continue to oversee the development of content across the company’s slate, working closely with newly appointed Donnelly.

Prior to joining South of the River Pictures, Donnelly began her career at John Lyons’ production company, Kalkaska, where she co-produced the Oscar-nominated drama Pieces of April and played a key role in projects such as Austin Powers: Goldmember. Building on this success, she launched her own production company, developing and producing critically acclaimed films, including Sundance favourite The Go Getter and the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Grey Gardens, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

She went on to produce Friends with Kids and spearhead a film fund, serving as executive producer for Maggie’s Plan, directed by Rebecca Miller and starring Greta Gerwig and Julianne Moore. Additional producing credits include A Bag of Hammers, That’s What She Said, and Beautiful Darkness.

In London, she founded LBD Productions to create TV and film projects.

Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair say: “We’re thrilled to have Lucy on board to help us steer South of the River through this exciting new chapter. She’s hugely experienced, with relationships spanning decades on both sides of the Atlantic, and has a great eye for an idea and the connections that will bring it to life. And importantly, she’s warm and fun! We’re also delighted for Lina, who has been here since the beginning, playing a pivotal role in shaping our vision. Lucy’s extensive experience combined with Lina’s deep understanding of the company will help drive the next phase of growth for South of the River Pictures.”

South of the River Pictures was founded by Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair and has a slate of projects across feature films and TV series, including their first production, Ed Sinclair’s multi-BAFTA-winning TV series Landscapers produced with SISTER for Sky Atlantic and HBO, and starring Olivia Colman and David Thewlis. It was nominated for Best Miniseries at the 2022 BAFTA TV Awards and won 3 BAFTA CRAFT Awards. Wicked Little Letters was South of the River’s first Feature Film produced with StudioCanal and BluePrint Pictures starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley.

Principal photography has just finished on the feature film, The Roses produced with Searchlight and Sunnymarch. Starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch The Roses is a reimagining of the 1989 classic The War of the Roses, Jay Roach (Bombshell, Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) directs a script by Tony McNamara (Poor Things, The Favourite, The Great) for Searchlight Pictures.

South of the River Pictures is currently in pre-production on Wicker, written and directed by Eleanor Wilson and Alex H. Fischer, starring Olivia Colman.