We first profiled writer/director Nia DaCosta’s “Little Woods” in 2015 when the project was selected for both the Sundance Institute/Time Warner Foundation Fellowship Program, and to receive funding from the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS)/ KRF Filmmaking Grants program.

Roughly 2 years later, “Little Woods,” DaCosta’s feature directorial debut, is all set to go into production, drawing the acting talents of Tessa Thompson, Lily James, Lance Reddick, James Badge Dale, and Luke Kirby to its cast.

The official synopsis for “Little Woods” reads: Ollie sneaks into Canada to get medication for her terminally ill mother and other residents in her overwhelmed North Dakota oil boomtown. She is caught and forced to stop her illegal business, even though it means leaving the people she aids with no better options. When her estranged sister Deb asks for her help, Ollie has to decide whether or not it’s worth it to help her when it will put both of their lives at risk.




Thompson plays Ollie and James is her estranged sister Deb. No word on what roles the other actors have signed up to play.

Produced by Rachael Fung and Gabrielle Nadig, the filmmakers described “Little Woods” as “a modern Western.”

Thompson, repped by Greene & Associates Talent Agency, Mosaic and Jackoway Tyerman, was most recently seen on the small screen in HBO’s “Westworld,” and will next be seen in Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” playing Valkyrie, as well as Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller “Annihilation,” both out later this year.