LONDON FILM FESTIVAL Film on the Square
Asylum seekers meet Old Testament in Exodus
Acclaimed British writer/director Penny Woolcock (The Death of Klinghoffer, The Principles of Lust) trains her sights on the Old Testament in her latest venture, Exodus. However, she gives the story of Moses a powerful contemporary twist by setting it amongst asylum seekers in the dilapidated beachside resort Margate.
Set in an unspecified future, the film pits the politician Pharoah Mann (a magisterial turn from Bernard Hill) against his adopted son Moses (Daniel Percival) when he takes the side of the underprivileged that are incarcerated in a walled settlement ironically called Dreamland. While Mann gradually disintegrates mentally, Moses transforms from an academic to a leader of men.
Woolcock says, “The story of Moses is the story of migration, which is in a sense the story of humanity. We are all searching for the Promised Land, a place where we will be safe and fulfill ourselves. There are many asylum seekers in Margate and there is some tension locally between them and local people who feel that they are being given special treatment. I had to think about who are the ‘Jews of today’ and it seemed to me that they are both the asylum seekers and our own dispossessed people.”
Woolcock has long being fascinated by people on the margins of society. She says, “Perhaps part of it is that I was brought up in Argentina and I was always interested in what was going on in the secret world of the shanty towns I could see around me. I then experienced about fifteen years of poverty myself as a single mother and this gave me an insight, which perhaps is not normal for most middle class women.”
The London Film Festival (October 17-November 1) has been an ideal showcase for the film. “It is wonderful for a small independent film to be shown in mainstream venues – so being able to see your movie with a full house in Leicester Square is a joy in itself!” says Woolcock.
The film is produced by Artangel Media in collaboration with Channel 4 and the Arts Council of England. Soda Pictures is handling UK distribution.
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