Director Clement Virgo and co-writer Tamara Faith Berger have crafted a psychosexual thriller rooted in history and obsession. Steal Away, adapted from Karolyn Smardz Frost’s non-fiction book Steal Away Home, opens in US and Canadian cinemas July 17 via Elevation Pictures.
The film follows Cécile, a young refugee who arrives with her mother at the sprawling estate of the wealthy Florence and her sheltered daughter Fanny. As the two girls develop an intense and obsessive bond, Fanny becomes captivated by Cécile’s way of navigating the world, awakening desire and jealousy that gradually reveal the darker truths beneath their seemingly utopian existence.
Mallori Johnson stars as Cécile alongside Angourie Rice as Fanny, with Lauren Lee Smith as Florence, Idrissa Sanogo as Rufus and Nola Elvis Kemper as Alberta. The ensemble also includes Denise M’Baye, Gloria Mampuya, Isabelle Menal, Arnold Pinnock and Hilde Van Mieghem.
Set in a stylized environment that blends elements of occupied Europe, the Antebellum South and Algiers, the film unfolds as part coming-of-age drama, part psychological thriller and part gothic horror, drawing on influences from Octavia Butler to Angela Carter.
The film is produced by Virgo, Damon D’Oliveira, Peter De Maegd and Tom Hameeuw, with cinematography by Sophie Winqvist, music by Fjóla Evans and editing by Jorge Weisz. Production companies include Conquering Lion Pictures, 2CFilm and Potemkino.
Steal Away premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025, marking Virgo’s sixth consecutive TIFF premiere. It also screened at the Atlantic Film Festival and Santa Barbara Film Festival before its theatrical release.