Actress Maddie Evans, known for House of the Dragon, is set to star in Pendle 1612, a new British horror film drawing on the history of the notorious Pendle Witch Trials. She will be joined by newcomer Ella Moss and Gemma Laurie of Shetland fame, in a docu-horror written and directed by Lancashire-born twin filmmakers Liam and Kyle Bashford. The project matters as an ambitious independent production rooted in the North West of England, championing local filmmaking talent rather than relocating to established industry hubs.

Evans, Moss and Laurie play Amy, Hannah and Meg respectively, three young women whose documentary investigation into the disappearance of Amy's sister draws them into the landscape around Pendle Hill, site of the 1612 trials that saw ten people hanged for witchcraft. Filming will take place on location in Pendle, Lancashire, with principal photography beginning at the end of September, produced by Eleven Eleven Pictures. The Bashford twins, who started making films together as teenagers in Blackburn before eight years at Pinewood Studios, previously made the short Waiting For Time with Ariyon Bakare and are executive producers on Una Notte for Harris Dickinson's Devisio Pictures.