Rebecca Hall to Direct Ruth Negga, Tessa Thompson in ‘Passing’

Rebecca Hall has been hired to direct Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in the thriller “Passing.”


Hall is making her feature directorial debut on the project, directing from a script she adapted from Nella Larsen’s Harlem Renaissance novella. Margot Hand of Picture Films and Oren Moverman of Sight Unseen are set to produce, with Angela Robinson executive producing.


“Passing” follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities. Larsen’s story was first published in 1929 by Knopf and her exploration of race was informed by her own mixed racial heritage and the increasingly common practice of racial passing in the 1920s.


Hall’s acting credits include “Christine,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “The Dinner.” Negga will be seen next on stage in Dublin at the Gate performing in “Hamlet” and in James Gray’s “Ad Astra.” Thompson is in production on “Men in Black 3” and will be seen next in “Creed 2.”