Dominic Sessa Sets Weston Razooli’s Adventure Crime Epic ‘Shades Of Paradise’

EXCLUSIVE: The Holdovers and Tony star Dominic Sessa is headlining Weston Razooli‘s new sprawling action movie, Shades of Paradise, we understand.

Razooli wrote and directed the pic, which is set, and recently wrapped in Spain. Shades of Paradise follows four small-time criminals who are thrown into an odyssey of violence and betrayal following a jewel-heist. The movie was shot on 2-perf 35mm film by Simone D’Arcangelo (The Settlers).

Also starring are Jack Dylan Grazer, Naira Lleo, Najwa Nimri, Rojuu, Zack Harrod, Teru Castilla Serrano, Romann Berrux, Rhys Mitchell, and Stanislav Baretsky. Oscar nominated producers Andrew Morrison of Kaplan Morrison produced the project.

Razooli’s debut feature as a writer and director was Riddle of Fire, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival’s Director’s Fortnight and later at TIFF Midnight Madness banner. Razooli also starred, edited and made the costumes and props for Riddle of Fire.

Additional Producers for the project include Mark Lampert, Oleg Nodelman and Michael D’Alto. EPs are David Kaplan for Kaplan Morrison; Elisa Lleras, Alba Barneda, Marta Cruanas, Claude Amadeo, Randal Sandler, Chris Triana, Heather Nodelman, Michael Barasch, Candy Barasch, Jesse Ozeri, Otto Eckstein, Julia Barasch, Samarth Kulkarni, Anastasiya Siro, Marlowe Griffin Lyddon, Jack Chinery, Brendan Lyddon, Magnus Thomassen, Raju Prasad, and Garrett Cayton.

Sessa can currently be seen starring as a young Anthony Bourdain opposite Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall, and Stavros Halkias in the A24 feature film Tony directed by Matt Johnson. Before that, Sessa starred in Stephanie Laing’s feature film Tow opposite Rose Byrne, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Last year, he was seen in the Lionsgate feature, Now You See: Now You Don’t opposite Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Justice Smith, and Ariana Greenblatt. This past winter, Sessa starred in the Michael Showalter directed Amazon feature, Oh. What. Fun. opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloë Grace Moretz. The actor made his feature film debut starring as Angus Tully in Alexander Payne’s Oscar winning The Holdovers opposite Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. For his performance in the film, Sessa was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and won Best Breakthrough Performance at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards. The actor is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson Teller. Razooli is repped by Range Media Partners and Granderson Des Rochers

Kaplan Morrison is a New York-based production company founded by producers David Kaplan and Andrew Morrison. Their first three films under the banner are Brady Corbet’s Academy-Award Nominated The Brutalist, Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee, which was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Amanda Seyfried; and Beth de Araujo’s Josephine, which won this year’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards at Sundance. They just wrapped production on David Robert Mitchell’s They Follow in LA and are producing Corbet’s highly anticipated next feature.