Aubrey Plaza is preparing to help protect children’s health and well-being…

The 40-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress and comedian will lead the under-the-radar drama The Accompanist alongside Susan Surrandon and Everly Carganilla.

Actor, writer, director and comedian Zach Woods is making his feature directorial debut.

Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international sales on the film, which is currently in post-production. CAA Media Finance and Gersh are handling North American sales.

The synopsis reads: “When 9-year-old Emily (Carganilla) accidentally tells her school nurse that her dementia-stricken grandpa almost got them killed, a rookie child-welfare agent Sarah (Plaza) is sent to their house to investigate. A botched extraction ensues and Emily is taken and placed with Sylvia, a new foster parent. Sylvia (Susan Sarandon) is mysterious, witchy, funny, and unpredictable. Her natural warmth and playfulness are complicated by the fact that she is haunted by visitations from her past. As Emily and Sylvia grow closer, their worlds, dreams, and visions begin to overlap. As their friendship deepens, they must decide how much they are willing to risk— whether their burgeoning love is worth the ghosts that it seems to summon.”

Produced in association with Aubrey Plaza’s Evil Hag Productions and Cinereach, the film’s screenplay was co-written by Woods and Brandon Gardner, both alumni of the US comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. The pair have collaborated previously on short films including David, starring Will Ferrell, which was nominated for the Short Film Palme D’Or at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Grand Prix at the Bilbao International Film Festival of Short Films. The movie also reunites Woods and Gardner with actress Carganilla, who starred opposite Michael Peña in their short film, Bud.

Michael Sagol, Managing Director at Caviar, says: “Zach is both irrepressibly creative and irrepressibly funny. After seeing both of his short films we were floored by how well-crafted and moving the stories were, which led to us inquiring about what he was turning his attention to next – an amazing personal script called The Accompanist. We’re so proud to be bringing Zach’s first feature to life together.”

Mister Smith Entertainment’s David Garrett commented: “The script itself has a unique voice, and the attachment of Susan, Aubrey and Everly to the project will bring magic to an already beautifully honed story, in the hands of the talented Mr. Woods.”