With her sophomore feature High End (formerly known by the far alluring title Diamond Shitter) currently in post-production, Antonia Campbell-Hughes is already preparing to climb back into the saddle with a third feature project—one she already knows intimately. Based on her 2018 short film Q4L, the trades report that Rooney Mara will topline Quest for Love in what should be a rather dark take on limitations of motherhood. Wild Atlantic Pictures’ Macdara Kelleher and John Keville will produce, Les Films Fauves’ Gilles Chanial is tapped as the co-delegate producer. We await further casting and a production start date which could take place as early as 2026. Here is the rather complete synopsis and original short below:
This follows the ruthlessly unsentimental but alluring Maris (Rooney) as she tears into Paris with her estranged ten- year-old son Maxy. Raised around her recently deceased father’s euthanasia work, she’s unsure if she’s even capable of feeling love. Setting up home in the charming Marais neighbourhood, she explores her capacity for human connection with Maxy, who desperately craves his mother’s love. Magnetic and funny, Maris easily draws people into her orbit, but her nocturnal habits hint at a dangerous violence that lurks beneath the surface. Unlike his amoral mother, Maxy knows right from wrong – and he’s clever enough to use her tricks against her to survive. Maris re-ignites a relationship with Alex, a devoted old flame whose growing love for Maxy forces her to make a deadly choice.
