Emily Mortimer is making her long-awaited leap into feature directing with Dennis, a romance set in the shifting cultural and emotional landscape of 1990s Moscow. Backed by A24 and Fruit Tree — the latter co-founded by Emma Stone — the film brings together rising stars Alison Oliver (Saltburn) and Yuriy Borisov (Anora) as a British student and a Russian poet whose lives become unexpectedly intertwined.
Written and directed by Mortimer, Dennis promises to explore a cross-cultural connection against a backdrop rarely seen in modern English-language cinema. For Mortimer, known for her work in front of the camera (The Newsroom, Shutter Island), the project marks a natural evolution after turning heads with her acclaimed miniseries The Pursuit of Love and her creative work on HBO’s Doll & Em.
The film continues A24 and Fruit Tree’s collaborative streak, following projects like Jesse Eisenberg’s When You Finish Saving the World and The Curse starring Emma Stone. Dennis will be financed and distributed globally by A24, and also boasts an international producing roster from Intake, Proton Cinema, and Lighthouse.
With a poetic setting, high-calibre backing, and two festival-favourite leads, Dennis looks set to offer something rare: a romance that feels both timely and timeless, told through the lens of an actress-turned-director with a sharp eye for emotional detail.
