Davies to sing Sunset Song

by Naman Ramachandran

17/02/2012 - Veteran British filmmaker Terence Davies (pictured - The Deep Blue Sea [trailer, film focus]) is all set to begin his dream project, an adaptation of classic Scottish novel Sunset Song.

Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s 1932 novel was considered provocative upon release, dealing as it does with incest, Scottish nationalism and its graphic treatment of sex and childbirth. The novel follows a young lady, Chris Guthrie, who is born into a dysfunctional Scottish family.

There have been numerous plays and a BBC television series based on the novel. Davies is currently casting for the feature version and will shoot in Scottish and Swedish locations over late 2012 and early 2013.

Bob Last (The Illusionist [trailer, film focus]), who also produced Davies’ The House Of Mirth, has secured a co-financing deal with Hurricane Films. The film will be a co-production with Sweden’s Götafilm (Simon And The Oaks [trailer]). Sol Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter from Hurricane will produce and Last will serve as executive producer.

Though the film has been on the anvil for Davies for years, it has taken this long to get close to the start line thanks to the novel’s dark subject matter. Davies recently finished a script polish on Sunset Song. He also has two other scripts lined up – an adaptation of Ed McBain’s He Who Hesitates and one about Emily Dickinson and her writing called Acquired Passion.