EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Weisz to star in and produce true story; Protagonist launches in Cannes.

Rachel Weisz is to star in and produce $15m kidnapping thriller Snatchback, from Dredd director Pete Travis. Oscar-winner Weisz (The Constant Gardener) co-developed the project and will produce alongside Frida Torresblanco (Pan’s Labyrinth, Magic Magic) of New York-based Braven Films.

Travis, also known for making Omagh and Vantage Point, has written the script and will direct.Snatchback is based on the true story of Maureen Dabbagh, a woman from Virginia whose ex-husband stole away their two year-old daughter and took her to the Middle East in 1992. Dabbagh spent more than a decade searching for her daughter, one of 1,000 children illegally abducted from the US each year, before she finally found her.