Best-selling phenomenon Where the Crawdads Sing now in theatres

From the best-selling novel comes a captivating mystery. Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world; but when one of them is found dead, she is immediately cast by the community as the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what actually happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal the many secrets that lay within the marsh.

This novel by Delia Owens is produced by Reese Witherspoon – Academy Award-winning actress and a powerhouse producer of Hello Sunshine. “I read the novel in one day. I just couldn’t put it down, I fell in love with Kya as the main character, as a little girl who’s growing up in a very rural area, shunned by society and trying to find a way to just save herself, just survive. The experiences she has with the two men in her life are both so touching but also terrifying,” says Witherspoon.

The gripping narrative of the book got Taylor Swift inspired to write and perform an original song for the film. Swift used instruments from the era of the film’s setting in creating the song. “Where The Crawdads Sing is a book that I got absolutely lost in when I read it years ago, I wrote the song ‘Carolina’ as I wanted to create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerizing story,” says Swift.

The same song was performed by songstress and entrepreneur Layla Kardan live at the UAE premiere of Where the Crawdads Sing at Reel Cinemas Dubai Mall. Following the film screening, she also joins the panel discussion with key opinion leaders such as Maria Leonard, spiritual growth coach; Kai Simmons, holistic life coach; Farah Al Alami, book expert; and Annabelle Corton, Assistant Head of Programming at Emirates Literature Foundation to discuss literary notes and topics surrounding the lasting damage of abandonment, the impact of trauma on relationships and the constancy of nature in life. 

Where the Crawdads Sing is released in theatres across the region from August 25. The movie is distributed by Empire International, the exclusive theatrical distributor of Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures in the Middle East.