Local media star and film producer Sadie Kaye attended the London premiere of ‘To Love A Narcissist’ at Everyman Cinema on 8 May 2026 ahead of its digital release on major platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime, in North America. BUZZ took the opportunity to find out what it’s like to attend the opening of your own film at a gala premiere.
Contro Vento is a film company based in London that is run by three creatives living in three different continents: founder and the film’s director Raffaello Degruttola, Bill Bossert and Sadie. The film stars Lyndsey Marshal, Raffaello Degruttola, Stephen Campbell Moore and Sule Rimi. Actor-turned-filmmaker Sadie Frost and Hollywood producer Ted Field are the film’s Executive Producers.
Sadie Kaye and Raffaello Degruttola (right), with Dom Dandridge and Soraya Shroff and Aamil Ghani (bottom left)
The film is the company’s second obsessive love story. Their first film, ‘Transference’, a bipolar love story co-produced by Sadie’s Hong Kong-based Mental Ideas platform was filmed on a micro-budget and just passed the milestone of 30 million views on YouTube.
The London premiere was attended by some of the film’s stars, including director/ male lead Raffaello Degruttola, Stephen Campbell Moore, Andrea Lowe, Sule Rimi and Executive Producer Sadie Frost who introduced the film.
BUZZ: How did you and Raff meet?
SK: Raff and I were cast as brother and sister in a show. Despite the lack of physical resemblance, this family dynamic stuck and we’ve been failing to get rid of each other ever since!
Sadie with Sule Rimi (left) and Lyndsey Marshal (right) with TJ Morgan and Geoffrey Nganga (bottom left)
BUZZ: What was the reaction like to the film?
SK: ‘Everybody I chatted to about the film was blown away by the acting, especially Lyndsey Marshal’s performance. I could call it ‘magnetic’, but it sounds too blasé. There aren’t enough superlatives to do her performance justice, so I had to make some up. Lyndsey Marshal has charismania. Her mesmerocity is bumstick.
BUZZ: The premiere was followed the next day by a screening for members and invited guests, including many relocated friends from Hong Kong!
SK: Correct. They included two former presidents of the Hong Kong Writers Circle – one of those is definitely enough in any social gathering – there should be a law about that – and a smattering of self-exiled journalists.
Executive Producer Sadie Frost and actor Stephen Campbell Moore
BUZZ: What did you wear?
Ah. So, I didn’t have time to go to town and buy anything special for it, but I left all afternoon free to try different things on at home and pack really nicely.
BUZZ: I’m guessing that’s not what happened.
SK: No. My last trip started in chaos when I discovered my suitcase had melted! Anybody who thinks climate change isn’t a thing should try packing a melted suitcase.
So, this year I had a much better-quality suitcase. There could be a volcano exploding under it and this thing would still be intact. It’s nuke-proof, MI5 certified, just a solid piece of kit. But unfortunately, it has a 6-digit code – and no passkey. So instead of having this relaxing afternoon trying cute little outfits on and deciding which cute little shoes went with them, I spent the next six hours trying to crack the code of my nuke-proof case. I tried every memorable date I could think of – marriages, divorces, births, deaths – no dice!
Eventually, I called my parents my dad said, ‘Why would you lock an empty case? Have you tried pressing the popper?’ So, with about 7 minutes to go before my ride arrived, I finally popped, threw some random shit in, and that’s how I ended up wearing my nightie to the premiere. But I made it work. By not taking my coat off.
Even on the Red Carpet?
I didn’t even notice a red carpet until right at the very end. I think I might have entered via the fire escape.
Sadie Kaye and Matthew Marshall – and nightie!
BUZZ: Since the premiere, the film has been released in North America?
SK: Yes, it was released digitally by Freestyle, the film’s US distributors 19 May. So if you’re travelling to the US or Canada or Greenland over the summer, you know what to watch!
BUZZ: Your first film, Transference, has 30 million views. Why do you think it’s been so successful?
SK: No idea. I’d love to say because it’s a great little indie film with an unusual viewpoint, which it is, but there are great indie films released every day that deserve 30 million views and don’t get a fraction of it. I think Transference unwittingly cracked an algorithm. Who knows if we’ll be as lucky with To Love A Narcissist.
BUZZ: Do you think To Love A Narcissist is a better film?
SK: It’s tough to compare them as they’re very different films, but yes, I prefer To Love A Narcissist. The acting and the direction are glueballs.
BUZZ: Have you had any reviews yet?
Yes, we had a nice one by Kevin.
BUZZ: Kevin?
SK: Kevin of Kevin Does Reviews. For money. No, he doesn’t and Contro Vento would never pay for a review – that’s a point of principle, not just because we can’t afford it. Kevin gave us our first review within hours of the release. There’s been a few others but it’s a bit hard to tell if some of them are genuine or just AI slop. At least Kevin has been verified by IMDb as 80% human, which is probably the best any of us can hope for these days.
BUZZ: So you’re confident of good reviews?
SK: God, no! I think anything about mental health can be quite polarising. Everybody has their own experiences, their own truth, and if your truth doesn’t match the portrayal, there’s a disconnect that can spill into frustration or even anger. So I’m expecting a real mixed bag!
BUZZ: What’s next?
SK: For me or the film?
BUZZ: Both!
SK: OK, so the film will show exclusively in North America for three months. Then it will be released worldwide, including Hong Kong, by another distributor. In fact, we’re hoping to do a Hong Kong benefit screening for Mind HK in September. [Kaye is an ambassador for the charity.] We haven’t finalised a date yet. But when we do, Buzz will be the first to know!
And I’m about to launch a new column for The Hooghly Review, called The Writer’s Gauntlet, which is going to be a lot of fun. The first person to ride it is the award-winning author and comedian Helen Lederer, and she’ll be swiftly followed by one of Hong Kong’s very own Stewart McKay, so no pressure for him.
The Writer’s Gauntlet invites established and emerging writers from anywhere in the world to show off their wit and sass. If this is you, get in touch!
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