Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to “H Is for Hawk” directed and co-written by Philippa Lowthorpe and starring Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson, the distributor announced on Friday.
Based on a true story and adapted from the internationally acclaimed New York Times best-selling memoir of the same name by Helen Macdonald, the film is a soaring journey on the profound connection between people and nature, and how it might be possible to reconcile loss through love.
“H Is for Hawk” will be released theatrically in December for awards consideration, followed by an early release in 2026, along with a release by sister company Lionsgate in the UK and Ireland.
“H Is for Hawk” follows Helen (Foy), who, after the sudden death of her father (Gleeson), loses herself in the memories of their time birding and exploring the natural world together and turns the ancient art of falconry—rooted in European tradition—training a wild goshawk named Mabel to navigate her profound loss. But as she teaches Mabel to hunt and fly free, Helen discovers how deeply she has neglected her own emotions and life. What begins as an act of endurance transforms into an intimate journey of resilience and healing.
The cast also includes Denise Gough, Lindsay Duncan and Sam Spruell. Lowthorpe co-wrote the screenplay with Emma Donoghue.
The film is produced by Plan B Entertainment. Executive Producers include Farhana Bhula and Ollie Madden of Film4 who developed the screenplay with Plan B; Hannah Blackwell, Ryan Malachowsky, and Tory Lenosky of Saturnia; Annie Yang, Tanat Tananivit, Kip Tiaviwat, and Cod Satrusayang of Kliff Studios; Jonathan E. Lim, Robin Jonas, and Steven P. Wegner of City Hill Arts; Naomi Despres and Michèle Marshall of Desmar; James Pugh and George Hamilton of Protagonist Pictures; Lena Headey and Tina Thor of Peephole Productions; Emma Berkofsky of Lionsgate UK; as well as Claire Foy and Helen Macdonald.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.
