My Mother’s Wedding First Look

Principal photography has wrapped on Kristin Scott Thomas’s directorial debut, MY MOTHER’S WEDDING, which focuses on three romantically dysfunctional sisters trying to navigate their mother’s third wedding.

Three sisters return to their childhood home for a momentous weekend; the third wedding of their twice widowed mother, Diana (Scott Thomas). The three daughters are from very different walks of life: Georgina (Beecham), a palliative nurse; Victoria (Miller), a Hollywood star; and Katherine (Johansson), a Captain in the Royal Navy. Over the weekend, the family gathers to celebrate a new marriage, but mother and daughters alike are forced to revisit the past and confront the future, with help from a colourful group of unexpected wedding guests…

The cast includes double Academy award nominee, Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, Under The Skin), BAFTA award nominee, Sienna Miller (Anatomy of a Scandal, American Woman), and Cannes Best Actress winner, Emily Beecham (Little Joe, Cruella), who play the sisters. Academy award nominee and BAFTA award-winner Scott Thomas, plays Diana Frost, their mother. This marks the third time Scott Thomas and Johansson have played mother and daughter since The Horse Whisperer (1998).

Joining the cast are BAFTA award nominee, Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Knight of Cups), Sindhu Vee (Sex Education, Matilda), Joshua McGuire (Cheaters, Anatomy of a Scandal), Mark Stanley (Game Of Thrones, Trigger Point), Thibault de Montalembert (Call My Agent, The King) and Samson Kayo (Bloods, The Bubble). Scott Thomas is also reunited with her Four Weddings and a Funeral co-star, James Fleet.

“I have wanted to direct for a long time and it was thrilling to create this fictional family using my own childhood memories as a springboard. Directing and acting with such talented actresses and reuniting with Scarlett Johansson has been exhilarating.”

Kristin Scott Thomas

Co-written by Scott Thomas and John Micklethwait, the film is produced by Finola Dwyer and Steven Rales and is a Finola Dwyer Productions / Ridlington Road Production presented by Indian Paintbrush.

Scott Thomas’s creative team includes Director of Photography Yves Belanger (Brooklyn, Dallas Buyers Club), BAFTA award-winning Production Designer Andrew McAlpine (The Piano, An Education), Casting Director Lucy Bevan (The Batman, Belfast), Editor Gary Dollner (Fleabag, Killing Eve), Costume Designer Sinead Kidao (Small Axe, The Pursuit of Love), and Academy award nominated Hair and Make-Up Designer Daniel Phillips (The Queen, Florence Foster Jenkins).

Thirteen Lives Review

The Plot

The astonishing true story of a young soccer team in Thailand who became trapped in the terrifying depths of the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the fearless team of divers desperately trying to bring them back to their families on the surface as the watching world held its breath.

The Good

Ron Howard brings his peerless directing talents to bare on yet another iconic true story. Just as he previously turned the Apollo 13 mission into a piece of Oscar worthy big screen drama, he succeeds again in breathing tense life into the struggles of a vast international rescue team to do the impossible and retrieve 13 young boys and their coach from the depths of the earth.

Howard’s direction deftly balances authenticity with emotional pathos. The film combines gripping re-enactment of the rescue with subtle exploration of the profoundly emotional journey of the boys, their families and the rescue team. It’s a constant tribute to the power of hope to conquer fear and seemingly impossible challenges.

The film’s excellent cast lead by stars Viggo Mortenson, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton all deliver outstanding performances that do true justice to the real life heroes they portray. Their eagerness to largely shun stunt performers in favour of genuinely plunging into the murky underwater world of the caves gives the film a critical added layer of reality. They also do a fantastic job of reminding audiences that their characters aren’t fearless super humans, but merely ordinary people desperately trying to use their accomplished expertise to prevent unspeakable tragedy.

In sharp contrast to the costume clad comic book heroism more typically celebrated on screen, this film provides a poignant and tense reminder of the reality of those who find themselves called by circumstances to face up against unspeakable odds.

Perhaps even more importantly this film doesn’t reductively seek to simplify the agonisingly long and complex rescue process by merely focusing on the divers physically tasked with extracting the boys from the caves. The film documents and celebrates the full scope of the massive multi-national team of thousands of volunteers, experts, officials and locals that worked tirelessly to help the boys survive and making saving them even a possibility.

In particular the film stands as a fitting tribute to those who did lose their lives and made other immeasurably huge sacrifices for the sake of rescuing these children. The film never seeks of sanitise the true cost of accomplishing this impossible feat of salvation.

Even for those who remember following the unfolding drama of the rescue via the constant global media coverage this film remains an important and rewarding experience. The film reveals much about the rescue that will astonish and inspire audiences even further. It’s a gripping and revelatory first-hand account of a ‘story’ which has already captured the hearts of people across the globe.

The Bad

Anyone that suffers from claustrophobia will find the film’s intensely realistic portrayal of the terrifyingly cramped and constantly perilous experience of diving 2.5 miles through submerged caves to be a deeply uncomfortable experience. In truth even those who aren’t overly sensitive to cramped spaces will mostly find themselves squirming uncomfortably the first time the film follows the diving teams underwater. It’s simply impossible not to have a strong reaction to the daunting dangers the rescue team faced constantly during the weeks of rescue work.

While the film’s entire purpose is to share that authentic experience with an audience, it will be unavoidably overwhelming at times for some people.

It’s undeniably important for people to understand the reality of this astonishing rescue, but this celebration of hope and heroism does require a willingness to endure rather than just be entertained.

The Ugly Truth

Thirteen lives is a masterclass in suspense and hope from one of Hollywood’s very best directors. An all-star cast breathes astonishing life into one of the most compelling tales of modern day heroism. Claustrophobic, breath-taking and simply brilliant this is true five star drama that urgently demands to be seen on.

 

Catherine Called Birdy Joins TIFF Line Up

TIFF is excited to announce  Lena Dunham’s Catherine Called Birdy will have its World Premiere at the 47th edition of the Festival.

The year? 1290. In the Medieval English village of Stonebridge, Lady Catherine (known as Birdy) is the youngest child of Lord Rollo and Lady Aislinn. Her playground is Stonebridge Manor, a house that, like the family, has seen better days. Financially destitute and utterly greedy, Rollo sees his daughter as his path out of financial ruin by marrying her off to a wealthy man for money and land. But Birdy, like all the great teen heroines, is spirited, clever, and adventurous–and ready to put off any suitor that comes in increasingly ingenious ways. Her imagination, defiance and deep belief in her own right to independence put her on a collision course with her parents. When the most vile suitor of all arrives, they are presented with the ultimate test of love for their daughter.

From Prime Video, Catherine Called Birdy stars Bella Ramsey, Lesley Sharp, Sophie Okonedo, Joe Alwyn, Isis Hainsworth, Dean-Charles Chapman, Paul Kaye, with Billie Piper and Andrew Scott. It is directed by and screenplay written by Lena Dunham, based on the book by Karen Cushman. Producers are Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Dunham, and Jo Wallett.

Fortune Favours Lady Nikuko Gets UK Release

While the anime medium has seen a recent renaissance owing to exciting epic fantasies and dazzling romances that are literally out of this world, sometimes, an ordinary life is the best of all. That’s the charm of Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, an eccentric yet heartwarming testament to the earnest lives of ordinary people from Japanese comedy legend Sanma Akashiya and award-winning director Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea). Anime Limited are delighted to announce that Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is joining their Cine Matsuri season of exciting anime films, coming exclusively to selected cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 10th August 2022.

Everyone knows about Nikuko, the larger-than-life woman who works at the local grill house and lives in a cosy houseboat moored at the docks of a small town. She’s loud and the furthest from being fashionable, but she has a big heart - whether that’s for deadbeat men sure to deceive her, or her daughter. A girl on the cusp of adolescence, Kikuo wants nothing more than to fit in and is often embarrassed by her mother, until the unearthing of a secret threatens to either bring them closer together, or tear them apart.

The colourful and heartfelt story of Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko was brought to life after the film’s creative producer, the popular Japanese comedian Sanma Akashiya, found himself moved by the love between parent and child found in Kanako Nishi’s original novel, with Nikuko’s cheerfulness reminding him of women he knew growing up in Kansai. When deciding to bring Nikuko to life through anime, Akashiya believes that “There are many things that Japan can be proud of and defend on the global stage. Anime is one of them”.

This makes Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko more than a perfect addition to Anime Limited’s ongoing Cine Matsuri season, which will continue to bring a jam-packed line-up of exciting, diverse anime films to cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland throughout summer and autumn.

Spielberg Film The Fablemans Gets TIFF Premiere

TIFF is excited and honoured to announce that Steven Spielberg’s first ever appearance at the Festival will take place this September with the World Premiere of his new film, The Fabelmans, at the 47th edition of TIFF.

A deeply personal portrait of 20th Century American childhood, The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.

The film’s ensemble cast includes four-time Academy Award® nominee Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea, My Week with Marilyn); Paul Dano (The Batman, There Will Be Blood); Seth Rogen (Steve Jobs, An American Pickle); Gabriel LaBelle (The Predator, American Gigolo series); Oscar® nominee Jeannie Berlin (The Heartbreak Kid, Inherent Vice); Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, 13 Hours); Robin Bartlett (Moonstruck, Lean on Me); Keeley Karsten (Hunters, Evil Lives Here) and Academy Award® nominee Judd Hirsch (Uncut Gems, Ordinary People).

Inspired by Spielberg’s own childhood, The Fabelmans is written by Spielberg and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Caroline, or Change), who has earned Oscar nominations for his screenplays for Spielberg’s Lincoln and Munich. The film is produced by three-time Oscar® nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (West Side Story, The Post), Spielberg and Kushner.