BETA CINEMA BOARDS POLITICAL THRILLER "KEEP HER QUIET" STARRING ZAR AMIR, JONATHAN PRYCE, AMIR EL-MASRY;

BAFTA Award–winner Franz Böhm directs, and Uyghur filmmaker Suli Kurban co-directs;

Munich, January 27, 2026 — Beta Cinema announced today that they will handle worldwide sales for KEEP HER QUIET, an upcoming English-language investigative thriller, directed by BAFTA Award-winner and Academy Award–shortlisted filmmaker Franz Böhm (Rock, Paper, Scissors), and co-directed by Uyghur filmmaker Suli Kurban.

KEEP HER QUIET follows a Washington, D.C.–based journalist, played by Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir (Holy Spider), whose investigation into unexplained disappearances in Western China puts her and her family in danger. The film is inspired by the true story of investigative journalists whose reporting brought international attention to the crisis, and by numerous survivor accounts of China’s ongoing “re-education” program in Xinjiang.

The international ensemble cast is led by Zar Amir (Holy Spider, Reading Lolita in Tehran, Tatami), joined by Academy Award–nominee Sir Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes), Screen’s Star of Tomorrow and Variety Vanguard Award winner Amir El-Masry (Limbo, Giant, The Crown), rising Uyghur talent Bahargul Basco, the UK’s Hiftu Quasem (Something in the Water, Killing Eve), and Eleanor Matsuura (Wonder Woman, Spooks).

Böhm’s acclaimed debut feature documentary Dear Future Children won Audience Awards internationally, including at Hot Docs in 2021. His short film Rock, Paper, Scissors earned the 2025 BAFTA for Best British Short and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. For KEEP HER QUIET, he teams up with co-director Suli Kurban, who fled political persecution in Xinjiang with her family in 1999. Kurban previously co-directed the documentary Run, Don’t Walk (2014) and wrote and directed the short film Hayat: Leben (2019).

The political thriller is produced by Johannes Schubert of German-Austrian outfit Schubert, producer of this year’s Berlinale Competition title Rose and Jessica Hausner’s Cannes Competition title Club Zero. He is joined by Switzerland’s Contrast Film (Stefan Eichenberger), Sweden’s Plattform Produktion (Erik Hemmendorff, producer of Triangle of Sadness, Force Majeure, The Square), and Austria’s Panama Film (Lixi Frank & David Bohun, producers of The Theory of Everything). Executive producers include Malte Grunert, Anita Gou, Caroline Clark, and Kristina Börjeson.

Producer Johannes Schubert says, “The film combines creative authenticity with escalating urgency, unfolding as a classic high-stakes political thriller driven by fearless journalism and the real-world dangers of confronting oppression.”

Currently in post-production, the film is already set for distribution across German-speaking territories, with Pandora Film (Germany), Filmladen Filmverleih (Austria), and Filmcoopi (Switzerland) aboard. Beta Cinema will launch international sales at the upcoming EFM.