Are we bound by the past — or can we rewrite our fate?

Sebastian Swift grew up in the isolated coastal town of Strahan, Tasmania, under the shadow of a father who wrapped abandonment and cruelty in fatalism — a bitter, womanising alcoholic who taught his son that free will was an illusion. Determined not to inherit that legacy, Sebastian excels at university and leaves Strahan behind for Sydney, the big smoke, convinced that discipline, ambition, and control can outrun the past.

At thirty, Sebastian arrives in Sydney for the first time at a crossroads. He must choose between two job offers: one low-risk, modestly paid, and philanthropic — work that would allow him to do tangible good in the world — and the other volatile, highly lucrative, and ethically compromised, promising rapid wealth at the cost of everything he claims to believe in. Sebastian wants to believe there is no contest. But fear, ambition, and temptation complicate the choice, and despite his ideals, he slides toward greed, telling himself he will course-correct later.

On the eve of his birthday, while wandering The Rocks, Sebastian is drawn into a hidden psychic shop known as The Soho Oracle. What begins as curiosity turns deeply unsettling when the psychic tells him his life line is short — that he will not live to see thirty-six — and that an “angel” will soon confirm the truth.

The following day, Sebastian meets Josie Moreau. Raised with love and emotional security, Josie lives deliberately off the grid — rejecting performance in favour of presence — and carries a medical condition that keeps her anchored to the moment. Their connection is immediate and unsettling. With Josie, Sebastian glimpses a life built on intimacy rather than control.

Sensing the fragility beneath his confidence, Josie chooses restraint. She asks Sebastian to wait a year before pursuing anything further, trusting that if what they feel is real, timing — not force — will bring them back together. It is not a test. It is an act of care.

Sebastian throws himself into work as the prophecy begins to intrude. Dreams bleed into waking life. Coincidences accumulate. When his estranged father reappears, manipulating Sebastian with a fabricated illness, Sebastian confronts a devastating truth: he didn’t reject his father’s worldview — he absorbed it. He didn’t choose greed proudly; he slid into it while telling himself he’d make things right later.

Only after Sebastian leaves — believing separation is the only way to protect Josie — does she encounter a second psychic and learn the full weight of the prophecy. The knowledge arrives too late to change her earlier choice, but it hardens her resolve. Loving Sebastian now means silence, patience, and carrying fear alone.

When they reunite, Sebastian and Josie do not interrogate the past. They choose to live the life they once imagined — fully, recklessly, without delay. They travel, love fiercely, and burn through the future as if it were already borrowed. It is not denial. It is defiance.

But time does not loosen its grip. The signs return. As the moment Sebastian was never meant to reach draws closer, joy and dread begin to coexist. In the moment that matters most, Sebastian confronts the belief that has governed his life since childhood — that he is powerless. He does not defeat fate. He rejects fear, choosing presence over prediction and love without guarantees.

The Soho Oracle is a gritty romantic drama with elements of magical realism — an existential love story about inherited damage, ethical compromise, and the cost of postponing who we intend to be.

THE SOHO ORACLE: Feature Film

Budget: USD 20M

Genre: Romantic Drama

Director: Storm Ashwood

Writer: James Wallace

Producers: James Wallace & Storm Ashwood

Executive Producers: Robert Slaviero

Casting Director: Cinzia Coassin

Production Companies: Braveheart Films & Storm Ashwood Projects

Locations: East Coast of Australia

Shoot: 2027