Dakota Johnson will make her feature directorial debut on drama 'A Tree Is Blue', with Vanessa Burghardt, Charli XCX and Jessica Alba in negotiations to star.

Written by Vanessa Burghardt, the movie will tell the story of a young woman on the autism spectrum who breaks free from her overprotective but loving mother in search of freedom, friendship, and a little chaos in the summer after high school graduation.

The Materialists and Fifty Shades star Johnson previously directed the short film Loser Baby, which premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.

Jessica Alba recently produced and starred in Netflix’s Trigger Warning and is set to appear alongside Anthony Hopkins, Andy Garcia and Al Pacino in the biographical sports film Maserati: The Brothers.

Charli xcx is a Grammy-winning musician who has been recently racking up more onscreen feature credits. She is producing and starring in the A24 movie The Moment and has landed roles in such films as Faces of Death, I Want Your Sex and The Gallerist.

Due to shoot in LA this November, we'd expect to see A Tree Is Blue hit the festival circuit and maybe even sneak into cinemas by the end of next year. The film comes with a budget under $10M and has qualified for $2.4M in California tax credit.

Source: Press Release