Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley Reunite in Benh Zeitlin’s Epic Tragic Romance ‘Hold On to Your Angels’

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, who delivered acclaimed performances in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, are set to reunite in Hold On to Your Angels, a tragic romance directed by Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild). The film is currently being packaged for next week’s Cannes film market.

Production will begin in February, with Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner’s Plan B producing alongside Alex Coco, who produced Sean Baker’s Oscar-winning Anora under his Rapt Film banner. International sales are handled by The Veterans, while domestic distribution rights are represented by CAA Media Finance.

Plot and Vision

Zeitlin describes Hold On to Your Angels as “an outlaw romance for the end of America, set on the crumbling edge of South Louisiana.” Mescal will portray the outlaw, who enters a catastrophic romance with Buckley’s character—a “ferocious shepherd of lost souls.” Their story unfolds as their bayou paradise collapses around them.

“‘Hold On To Your Angels’ is the most impossible love story I’ve ever witnessed,” Zeitlin said. “I’ve been dreaming of telling it since its hero, Pam Harper, walked into an audition for Beasts of the Southern Wild seventeen years ago. It’s a love letter to an endangered way of life—and a rallying cry for empathy across a fractured planet.”

Industry Praise

“Benh Zeitlin absolutely stunned us and the world at large with the cosmic sorcery of Beasts Of The Southern Wild. With Hold On To Your Angels, Benh has set his powerful mix of intense realism, myth, and magic against the large scale of an epic love story. This is a writer/director with a vision for the ages and we could not be more proud to be by his side to make this film with Jessie and Paul,” said Plan B.

“After years of working with filmmakers that explore the overlooked corners of our world, I can recognize Benh Zeitlin as a filmmaker with that rare gift: the ability to reveal profound beauty and humanity in parts of America that seldom find their way onto the silver screen,” added Coco.

Oscar-Winning Duo Returns

Mescal and Buckley earned critical acclaim for their roles in Hamnet, where they portrayed William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, navigating the loss of their son, Hamnet. Buckley won the Academy Award for Best Actress, while Mescal received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Key Credits and Representation

• Producers: Plan B (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner), Alex Coco (Rapt Film)
• Sales & Distribution: The Veterans (international), CAA Media Finance (domestic)
• Representation: Buckley (CAA, United Agents, Johnson Shapiro Slewett Kole); Mescal (CAA, Curtis Brown Group); Zeitlin (CAA, Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora Clark)