Sisters Rooney and Kate Mara premiered their Ireland-filmed drama Bucking Fastard at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2026. Directed by Werner Herzog and co-starring Orlando Bloom, the eccentric feature places the real-life siblings in the roles of co-dependent twins who speak and move in unison.
Werner Herzog Casts the Mara Sisters in a Synchronised Tale
Veteran German filmmaker Werner Herzog brought his latest eccentric creation to the Lido for the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, debuting a project written specifically with Rooney and Kate Mara in mind. The feature, titled Bucking Fastard, follows identical twins Jean and Joan Holbrooke. The characters share such extreme co-dependence that they speak in unison, share the same dreams, and even make identical verbal slips at the same time.
Speaking to journalists in Venice, Herzog described the project as unique in cinema history
and noted that he had written the screenplay in five days with the Mara sisters in mind. The film is in the running for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion.
“It’s unique in film history in a way… It’s unique that two sisters are playing as one.”
Werner Herzog, Director
Real-Life Kinship and the Road to Production
For Rooney and Kate Mara, stepping into the roles of the tightly bound siblings proved both daunting and surprisingly natural. The production marks the first time the two sisters have acted together on screen.
The younger sister admitted that the prospect of playing essentially the same person initially felt quite daunting
, but their shared history smoothed the process.
Older sister Kate Mara described the rhythm of the dialogue as musical. Once we figured out the rhythm of speaking in unison it felt like a song, it was very musical,
she noted, adding that receiving a personal letter from Herzog a year prior made accepting the roles an obvious thing to say yes to.
Irish Backdrops, Real-Life Roots, and a Star-Studded Cast
The film’s narrative draws loose inspiration from Freda and Greta Chaplin, twins from northern England who gained public notoriety in the early 1980s for their synchronized movement, shared language, and identical habits. The real-life pair sparked national headlines during a court case at York Magistrates’ Court where they were prosecuted for breaching the peace after harassing a local truck driver, Ken Iveson. Herzog named his film after a simultaneous verbal slip the Chaplin sisters made during that legal proceeding.
In Herzog’s adaptation, the sisters become a tabloid sensation and are assigned a government-issued social worker named Timothy, played by Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, who attempts to help them navigate modern life. Orlando Bloom stars as Gareth Maloney, an ex-lover whom both sisters fall in love with, triggering a bizarre quest where the pair begin digging a tunnel through an entire mountain range in search of a land where true love is possible.
Production took place across Ireland and Slovenia, utilizing urban and rural settings including Dublin locations such as Pigeon House and Capel Street, alongside Naas in County Kildare. Irish producer Kieran Corrigan joined an international team of producers on the project, which also features Irish cast members Simon Delaney and Hugh O’Conor.
Festival Route and Critical Reception
Critical reactions following the world premiere underscore the film’s polarizing tone.
| Outlet | Critical Verdict |
|---|---|
| Screen Daily | strange tale of sisterly devotion |
| Variety | cluttered, ripely bonkers fantasia |
| The Guardian | silly, pointless drama |
| IndieWire | destined to polarise… either you’re on the train, or you want to get off it fast |
What Lies Ahead for the Feature
As the 83rd Venice International Film Festival continues, Bucking Fastard competes alongside major international works for the Golden Lion. While the star-studded red carpet brought out cast members including Orlando Bloom, Domhnall Gleeson, and the Mara sisters alongside director Herzog, the film’s commercial future remains undefined.
No official theatrical release date has been announced by distributors, leaving audiences to await word on when the eccentric, Ireland-shot drama will reach broader cinemas.
