EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights for Lance Hammer’s Queen at Sea following its critically acclaimed, prize-winning premiere at the 2026 Berlinale.

Juliette Binoche co-stars as single mother Amanda who is squeezed between raising her teenage daughter and caring for her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother (Anna Calder-Marshall), opposite Tom Courtenay as her stepfather.

The pair clash as they grapple with questions over who is responsible for the mother now that is incapable of making critical decisions. Is it her spouse, child or an institution?

The drama won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear Jury Prize and the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for Courtenay and Calder-Marshall.

Deadline critic Damon Wise praised the lead performances for helping the audience to navigate “the intimate and surprisingly complex moral maze” at the heart of the film.

Greenwich are planning a North American festival circuit tour for the feature this fall ahead of an awards season launch with nationwide theatrical release later this year.

Queen at Sea was the first feature in 18 years for Hammer, who previously made waves with Ballast. He was also joined on the project by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams). 

“I’m very excited to work with the extraordinary team at Greenwich for the release of Queen at Sea,” said director Lance Hammer. 

“They truly get the film, they understand the emotional and moral subtleties of its subject, a subject that touches almost every family in some direct or peripheral way, and their ideas for reaching this large but infrequently tapped audience are smart and exciting. Greenwich is an ideal partner to present Queen at Sea to the world.”

Queen at Sea was produced by Tristan Goligher for The Bureau (45 Years, Supernova).  The acquisition was negotiated by Greenwich’s Andy Bohn with CAA Media Finance and The Match Factory representing the filmmakers.