UKFC backs Brown, Boy, 1939
The UK Film Council’s (UKFC) Premiere Fund has funded three British films to the tune of over £3m.
Harry Brown, Daniel Barber’s feature debut, is an urban vigilante western set in present day Britain’s drug and gun culture. The film, which has been awarded £1m, stars Sir Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles and Liam Cunningham. Harry Brown is a MARV production and financiers are Prescience, the UKFC and Framestore. HanWay Films is handling international sales while Lionsgate are the UK distributors. The film is currently on a seven-week shoot at London and Elstree Studios.
Sam Taylor-Wood’s John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy receives £1.2m from the Fund. Newcomer Aaron Johnson as Lennon, Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff star. The film is an Ecosse Films production in association with Film4, the UKFC, NorthWest Vision and Media, Lip Sync Productions and Aver Media. HanWay Films are handling worldwide sales and have pre-sold several territories, including to Icon for the UK and Australia and Mars Distribution for France, who will release the film in 2010. The film begins shooting in Liverpool and Ealing Studios in March.
Stephen Poliakoff’s WWII thriller 1939 gets £970,000 and features Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, Christopher Lee and Jeremy Northam. 1939 is a talkbackTHAMES production with Magic Light Pictures, BBC Films, the UKFC, Screen East Content Investment Fund and Quickfire Films in collaboration with The Works Media Group. Momentum Pictures has acquired UK rights.
Sally Caplan, Head of the Premiere Fund, said, "These are three very different and unique projects which all have contemporary relevance to audiences today and we are very pleased to be backing each of them."
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