IFC Midnight has acquired the horror film “A Banquet”, the feature debut from Ruth Paxton, whose award-winning short films have been exhibited and nominated in competition at numerous prominent film festivals worldwide. A Banquet is a visually arresting, slow-burning psychological horror that uses subtle supernatural elements to create tension within a family in the midst of a breakdown, exploiting the complicated bond between three generations of mothers and daughters.

The film stars Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil film series, High Rise), British rising stars Jessica Alexander (Get Even) and Ruby Stokes (Rocks, Una), and award-winning actress Lindsay Duncan CBE (Made in Italy, Private Lives). A Banquet will be released by IFC Midnight in 2021.

Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn between love and fear, Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own beliefs.

Director Ruth Paxton added, “I’m thrilled to be partnering with such an established champion of independent cinema in IFC Films. It is daunting to be introducing my first feature with them considering they’ve previously supported many of my cinematic heroes; from Von Trier and Audiard to McQueen, Kent and Kurzel, but I’m incredibly excited and I can’t wait to launch A Banquet with them!”