19 year old Jessica (represented by Waring and McKenna) is best known for her role as Grace Blood in the multiple-award winning E4 series Skins, beating 8,000 other actors to win the role, and recently appeared in ITV's Love and Marriage. Honeytrap is her debut film role.
Producer Sarah Sulick said: “Our casting director did an exhaustive search and we saw many talented actresses, but Jessica really stood out. The fact that she is of Trinidadian descent – like our main character – adds another layer of authenticity to a story that is very much rooted in a specific place and time: contemporary South London.
Writer and director Rebecca Johnson said: “The urban genre has not been explored from the female perspective before and it’s time this side of the story was told. Jessica is a rare talent who will bring Layla to searing life. I’m very excited to have found her.”
Honeytrap tells the story of fifteen-year-old Layla, who sets up the boy who’s in love with her to be killed. The story is based on true events, inspired by several cases that have taken place in South London in recent years.
When eighteen-year-old rapper Troy picks Layla out of the crowd, she is swept into a romance that brings popularity, status and sexual awakening - until Troy discards her and she loses everything. Determined to win him back, Layla vows to rebuild herself in Troy’s image, becoming a heartless, hardened player. But, despite her boasts that she is just using him, she also finds her first true friend in sixteen-year-old Shaun. As the forces she has set in motion start to collide, Layla must choose: between the two boys, between desire and friendship, between power and connection to another human being.
As part of the production, and in line with Rebecca’s work under Fierce Productions, 15-20 young people from Brixton will join the production team and shadow the crew. The Training and Mentoring scheme has been funded by The Walcot Foundation and the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation.
Principal photography on Honeytrap will begin on location in Brixton, London on Monday 2nd September for four weeks.