EXCLUSIVE: Global Constellation has acquired international sales rights to The Long Haul, starring three-time Emmy winner Margo Martindale as a seasoned trucker haunted by a dark secret from her past, ahead of its world premiere at Tribeca.

The drama is the first feature of American UK-based filmmaker and photographer David Drake, whose past credits includes the BFI-supported short film Left Over starring stars Chloe Pirrie and Ian Hart.

Set in the world of long-haul trucking, the drama stars Martindale (August: Osage County, Million Dollar Baby) as trucker CJ, whose life on the road is upended when a letter from the parole board forces her to confront the past she’s been running from.

Martindale leads a cast that includes Cole Sprouse (Riverdale), Emmy nominee Stephen Root (Barry), Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Jefferson White (Yellowstone) and Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans).

“David Drake captures the delicate emotional resilience of growing older against the sprawling backdrop of the American open road. Margo Martindale anchors the film with extraordinary precision, bringing a profound, lived-in humanity to a story of parental trauma and healing,” said Global Constellation head
Fabien Westerhoff.

The film is produced by BAFTA and BIFA nominees Sam Bank (Twende) and Hélène Sifre (Blue Jean) at London-based company Braintrust, alongside Juliet Berman (Griffin in Summer) at L.A.-based Spiral Stairs Entertainment.

Global Constellation, which is a Vuelta company, is handing all international rights and co-representing North American rights with Gersh.

Key creative talent includes cinematographer Mika Altskan, editor Sarah Brewerton, sound designer Ines Adriana, and composer Chris Roe.

Drake and Martindale are represented by Gersh, while Sprouse is represented by WME and Entertainment 360.

Global Constellation is coming out of a busy Cannes with titles on its slate including breakout adult animation Jim Queen by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané, which played in Official Selection’s Midnight Screening section, as well as Sébastien Laudenbach’s animated feature Viva Carmen which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight.