Taylor Swift to Make Feature Directorial Debut With Searchlight

Taylor Swift will be making her feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures. 

The pop sensation has penned an original script, which will be produced by the studio. “Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller. It is a genuine joy and privilege to collaborate with her as she embarks on this exciting and new creative journey,” Searchlight presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a statement.

The 14-minute production All Too Well: The Short Film, which Swift wrote and directed, recently screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival with a special 35mm print. 

“If it were the right thing, it would be such a privilege and honor,” Swift told a Toronto fest audience of directing a feature during an In Conversation With appearance. Based on her song “All Too Well,” All Too Well: The Short Film, which Swift wrote and directed, portrays a manipulative boyfriend and a young woman falling in love and the heartbreak that followed after their breakup.

Swift also makes an appearance in the short. In one scene, the couple have an argument after a visit with friends, followed by Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien’s characters making up. But after they break up, Sink’s character is shown reeling emotionally as the short features flashbacks of happier times in their relationship.

Details on her upcoming project with Searchlight are scarce, but, during her TIFF talk, Swift pointed to women directors like Nora Ephron, Chloe Zhao and Greta Gerwig as influences on her fledging directorial career.

The singer-songwriter’s evolution as a film director came about by initially writing songs and then setting words and music to film with storyboards and a shot list. Swift directed her first music video for “The Man,” based on the song from her 2019 album Lover. She went on to direct music videos for her singles “Cardigan” and “Willow.”

All Too Well: The Short Film is one of the year’s eligible short film submissions for the upcoming 95th Oscars.

Searchlight Pictures recently announced Academy Award Nominee Yorgos Lanthimos’ next project And, with Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe set to star. Recent and upcoming releases include Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin; Mark Mylod’s The Menu; Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light; Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins; and Stephen Williams’ Chevalier.

Searchlight’s development slate includes teaming with Annapurna and Amy Adams for Nightbitch, an adaptation of the Rachel Yoder novel.

And Andrew Stanton, known for helming Pixar classics WALL-E and Finding Nemo, will direct In the Blink of an Eye, a sci-fi drama, for Searchlight.

And on the TV side, Oscar-winning Nomadland writer and director Chloé Zhao signed a first-look deal with Searchlight.