28/07/2022 - Kristin Scott Thomas’ directorial debut focuses on three romantically dysfunctional sisters trying to navigate their mother’s third wedding

left to right: Scarlett Johansson, Emily Beecham and Sienna Miller in North Star (© Kerry Brown)

Principal photography has wrapped on Kristin Scott Thomas’s directorial debut, titled North Star (working title: My Mother’s Wedding). The award-winning actress has taken part in a number of successful films, including Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The English Patient (1996), The Horse Whisperer (1998), Nowhere Boy [+see also:
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The plot of this new project focuses on three sisters returning to their childhood home for a momentous weekend, namely the third wedding of their twice widowed mother, Diana (played by Scott Thomas). The three daughters are from very different walks of life: Georgina (Cannes Best Actress winner Emily Beecham), a palliative nurse; Victoria (BAFTA award nominee Sienna Miller), a Hollywood star; and Katherine (double Academy award nominee Scarlett 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 picture is co-written by the helmer herself and John Micklethwait.

Interestingly, the production marks the third time Scott Thomas and Johansson have played mother and daughter since The Horse Whisperer (1998).

Alongside the main cast are Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire [+see also:
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interview: Stephen Frears
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Commenting on her new endeavour, Scott Thomas said: “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.”

North Star is being produced by Finola Dwyer and Steven Rales for Finola Dwyer Productions (UK) and Ridlington Road Pictures (UK), and presented by Indian Paintbrush (USA). CAA Media Finance, which arranged financing for the picture, is in charge of its domestic rights.