Shailene Woodley (Divergent) has signed on to star in the psychological thriller Ultra.
The film was written and will be directed by Victoria Negri (Gold Star), with Allison Rose Carter and Jon Read producing for Savage Rose Films (Everything Everywhere All at Once) alongside Iris Torres (In Dubious Battle). Executive producers are Andrew Kortschak and Lisa Ciuffetti for End Cue (The History Of Sound), and Toby Halbrooks for Sailor Bear (The Green Knight).
Mister Smith Entertainment is on board for international sales and will launch the film to buyers at the 2025 AFM. WME Independent will handle US sales.
The film’s synopsis reads: Following the tragic death of her twin sister, Eve (Woodley) enters into the most intense athletic endeavour on the planet: the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race through Death Valley, where temperatures reach 54°C. As Eve takes on the unforgiving elements and intense physical and psychological strain of the race, she finds herself pursued by an unknown runner in white, consistently closing the gap between them as they surge through the desert. Trying to outrun the ominous presence, Eve will face the darkest parts of herself and uncover what she is made of.
“Tragic circumstances, for better or worse, are transformative, and Ultra is a film born from that experience,” Negri said of the film. “My father was a distance runner, left paralyzed by a stroke. Running, the thing that gave him life, was taken from him. He suffered and finally succumbed. While finding my emotional footing, I grew to become an ultrarunner, since completing two 100-mile races, numerous 50 milers, and many marathons. It’s through testing my limits in each of these epic races that I process loss — physical pain being the greatest metaphor for the emotional.”
Negri added that Ultra will be a “visceral descent into inner turmoil, as our protagonist Eve is unable to confront the loss that chases her down in the unforgiving desert of Death Valley, during the world’s toughest footrace: the monumentally challenging Badwater 135 Ultramarathon.”
